Ember Publishes Global Electricity Review 2021 Report

London-based climate and energy think tank Ember has published its Global Electricity Review 2021 report. According to the report, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic halted growth in global electricity demand last year. Global electricity demand fell 0.1% in the previous year, marking the first decline since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Despite the slowdown in demand last year, wind and solar energy showed greater resilience compared to other sources against the pandemic. Global total electricity generation last year reached 25,850 terawatt-hours, while electricity from wind and solar energy accounted for 2,435 terawatt-hours. Thus, wind and solar comprised approximately 10% of global electricity generation in 2020. Growth in wind and solar exceeded the United Kingdom's total generation. Electricity generation from wind and solar increased by 314 terawatt-hours (15%) globally last year. This increase surpassed the United Kingdom's annual total electricity generation. Thanks to the 314 terawatt-hour growth in electricity generation from wind and solar energy, coal-based electricity generation experienced a record decline of 346 terawatt-hours (4%) last year. Total electricity generation from coal last year was 8,736 terawatt-hours. According to the report, while the slowdown in electricity demand due to the pandemic was instrumental in increasing the share of wind and solar energy in total electricity generation, as demand picks up again, the world needs to develop more wind and solar energy capacity. Although global coal-based electricity generation declined, China was the only G20 country to see an increase in coal-based electricity generation and ranked first with a 53% share in this area. In the other four countries with high coal shares in electricity generation, this share decreased. In this context, coal's share in electricity generation fell by 20 percentage points in the United States, 13 percentage points in South Korea, 5 percentage points in India, and 1 percentage point in Japan. On the other hand, despite the decline in coal-based electricity generation last year, emissions from the electricity sector increased 2% compared to 2015, when the Paris Agreement was signed. In his assessment of the report, Ember Chief Dave Jones stated that as electricity demand grows, the world needs more wind and solar energy capacity to reduce coal-based generation, saying, "This year we are seeing coal-based electricity generation begin to increase again in China, India and the United States. This clearly indicates there will be a larger increase." Jones noted that the record decline in coal-based electricity generation during the pandemic was insufficient, stating, "No region in the world is making sufficiently rapid progress. To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, coal-based electricity generation needs to fall 80% by 2030. World leaders have still not grasped the magnitude of the challenge ahead." Source: www.aa.com.tr