The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released its latest “Global Energy Review” report, providing a comprehensive analysis of global energy industry trends in 2024. The report systematically examines key issues such as the global energy supply and demand landscape, the adoption of new energy technologies, and carbon emissions in the energy sector.
According to the report, global energy demand grew by 2.2% year-on-year in 2024, exceeding the average annual growth rate of 1.3% between 2013 and 2023. Emerging market countries and developing economies accounted for 80% of this increase in energy demand. Developed economies, after several years of declining energy demand, experienced a recovery, with a near 1% positive growth.
Electricity consumption continues to climb globally. The power sector was the main driver of the accelerated growth in global energy demand over the past year. The report states that global electricity consumption increased by nearly 1,100 terawatt-hours in 2024, a 4.3% year-on-year growth, which is double the average annual growth rate of the past decade. On one hand, record-high temperatures globally led to a surge in electricity demand for cooling in many countries and regions. On the other hand, the expansion of industrial electricity use, the acceleration of transport electrification, and the rapid development of data centers and the AI industry also strongly supported electricity demand.
Renewable energy has become the main force in meeting the growth in new electricity demand. In 2024, new renewable energy installed capacity rose to around 700 gigawatts, setting a new record for the 22nd consecutive year. Renewable energy and nuclear power together accounted for 80% of the global increase in electricity generation in 2024, with their combined share exceeding 40% for the first time.
With the rapid growth in global electricity demand, the consumption of renewable energy, natural gas, coal, and nuclear power all increased. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol pointed out that the rapid growth in electricity consumption is driving overall energy demand up, with momentum strong enough to reverse the declining trend in energy consumption in developed economies. In 2024, demand for all major energy sources and technologies grew, with renewable energy contributing the most to the increase, followed by natural gas. The rapid development of solar, wind, nuclear power, and electric vehicles has weakened the traditional link between economic growth and carbon emissions.
The report shows that natural gas led the growth in fossil energy demand over the past year. Global natural gas consumption increased by 115 billion cubic meters compared to the previous year, a 2.7% increase, significantly higher than the average annual growth of 75 billion cubic meters over the past decade. In contrast, oil demand growth slowed significantly, with global oil demand increasing by only 0.8% for the year, and its share in global energy demand falling below 30% for the first time. A significant factor in this shift is the continued activity in the electric vehicle market. Global electric vehicle sales grew by over 25% year-on-year in 2024, a structural change that significantly reduced the growth in fossil fuel oil demand and lowered oil demand in the transport sector. Meanwhile, global coal demand growth also slowed to 1% in 2024.
The report indicates that the accelerated adoption of clean energy technologies effectively curbed the growth in energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2024, further weakening the correlation between carbon emissions and economic growth. Data shows that global carbon dioxide emissions increased slightly by 0.8% year-on-year in 2024, totaling 37.8 billion tons. Since 2019, with the large-scale adoption of technologies such as photovoltaic power generation, wind power, nuclear power, electric vehicles, and heat pumps, the world has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 2.6 billion tons annually, equivalent to 7% of global total emissions.
