Released in June 2024, the EI Statistical Review of World Energy (Statistical Review) reported another year of highs in our energy hungry world. Record consumption of fossil fuels and record emissions from energy, but also record generation of renewables, driven by increasingly competitive wind and solar energy.
The EI Country Transition Tracker assesses the data of around 80 of the world's largest energy-consuming countries that are itemised in the Statistical Review, representing more than 96% of global energy consumption and 95% of global emissions. This report aims to build a picture of progress towards targets set under the Paris Agreement.
In 2023, at COP28, the first global stocktake was finalised which assessed action taken under the Paris Agreement. This was the first indicator of the overall progress made by Parties towards their nationally determined contributions (NDCs). While it recognised progress had been made towards the Paris Agreement, it also signalled that efforts have been insufficient to reach long-term targets. The outcomes will also provide direction for the next set of NDCs due in 2025.
Conducting the global stocktake is a two-year process scheduled to happen every five years. The next global stocktake is not scheduled for release until 2028 and again in 2033 etc.; a level of frequency that allows for just 5 more global stocktakes between now and 2050, the critical date for limiting the rise in global temperatures to around 1.5°C.
To provide a more frequent update of energy transition progress, the Energy Institute has created its annual Statistical Review Country Transition Tracker. Recognising that the energy transition is not limited to addressing climate change, the Country Transition Tracker uses country-level data contained in the Statistical Review to build a picture of energy transition progress across three broad fronts:
The Country Transition Tracker provides users with a regular means to draw their own conclusions about whether or not the world is on track to meet its 2050 targets. It considers progress made since 2017, the first full year after formal ratification of the Paris Agreement, the driver for near-universal climate action.
Summarising data from across 2017 to 2023 for just 21 (collectively responsible for 80% of total global energy consumption) of the 80 countries featured in the Statistical Review, it is apparent that progress across the eight areas assessed by the Country Transition Tracker is highly varied. The relative advancement of a country’s progress is reflected by how green its ratings are. The highest area of lag is in contribution of renewable energy to the total energy mix which is particularly reflected in decarbonisation of the power sector. The most advanced countries on these metrics are Brazil and Western Europe: France, UK, Germany and Spain.
This landscape plots the relative positioning of the world’s highest energy consuming countries according to their primary energy intensity (a measure of the total energy used to support economic and social activity), the extent to which renewable energy has penetrated their energy systems, and the change in energy related CO2e emissions (both magnitude and direction) between 2017 and 2023. Over time, positive energy transition progress will see nations move down the Y-axis and along the X-axis.
Outside the 21 highest energy consuming nations, Iceland is the most advanced country in terms of renewable energy consumption with 83% of total energy consumed coming from sustainable sources although with an extremely high energy intensity finds itself in the top-right quadrant. Within the 21 highest energy consuming nations France has the highest share of primary energy from low carbon sources, primarily due to nuclear energy, which places it closest to the target bottom-right segment.
Between 2017 and 2023, greenhouse gas emissions from energy increased on average by 0.7% each year. During this period, global energy markets were disrupted by both the COVID-19 pandemic and conflict in Ukraine (significantly impacting its own energy demand). The largest reductions in emissions were achieved by USA and Japan (245 and 190 million tonnes respectively). The large percentage rises in energy related emissions witnessed by China and India between 2017 and 2023 were also reflected in large rises in absolute volumes, 2,122 and 624 million tonnes respectively. More than half of the 79 countries listed in the Statistical Review saw emission reductions between 2017 and 2023. However, China’s rise alone was sufficient to offset the total number of reductions made elsewhere in the world across this period.
Between 2017 and 2023, global consumption of fossil fuels grew by nearly 5.7% (27 exajoules). The largest increase was in demand for natural gas which increased by 9.8% (13 exajoules), followed by oil which increased by 5.5% (6 exajoules). A net increase in global demand for coal of 9 exajoules was primarily led by China and India (13 and 5 exajoules respectively). The US reduced its coal consumption by nearly 40%, a decline of 6 exajoules and the largest fall of any nation.
Renewable consumption (including hydroelectricity) grew in 73 out of the 79 countries, in absolute terms, between 2017 and 2023. However, despite renewable consumption doubling over this period, renewable energy still only met around 15% of global energy demand in 2023. China was by far the biggest market for renewable energy, growing by over 11 exajoules, followed by the US at 2.2 and India at 1.4 exajoules. European nations account for eight of the ten highest countries. Countries in the Middle East account for four of the ten lowest positions.
The power sector is often cited as one of the easier sectors to decarbonise with a range of proven low carbon technologies (renewable and nuclear) to invest in as well as gas-fired combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs), a readily deployable and relatively low carbon intensive fossil fuel option to displace more carbon intensive coal, oil, diesel, and inefficient gas-fired power generation. Whilst China ranks the highest in terms of actual generation from low carbon sources, combined they only contribute around 13% to its total electricity generation, a significant drop from 2022 due to large reductions in hydro generation in 2023. It is followed by the US and then Brazil in terms of actual volume of output from low carbon sources. France has the most decarbonised power sector with 92% of generation from zero carbon sources, with nuclear contributing to 65% of the total generation.
The carbon intensity ratio of greenhouse gas emissions to energy consumption indicates how clean an energy system is with respect to emitting harmful gases that contribute to climate change. It is one of a range of metrics that can be used to measure how efficiently economic and social activities are at consuming energy. It is heavily influenced by both the mix of primary energy inputs and the efficiency of conversion and end-use technologies deployed within a given system. For instance, for power generation, a modern coal-fired plant emits around 950 grammes of CO2/kWh whereas a more efficient combined cycle gas turbine emits around 350 grammes of CO2/kWh. Countries such as France, Brazil, Norway, and Sweden that rely heavily on renewables and/or nuclear power have particularly low levels of carbon intensity. Countries with the highest levels tend to be characterised by strong dependency on oil and coal as well as relatively inefficient technologies to convert and consume primary energy.
As a measure of the total amount of energy consumed divided by a country’s population, the level of energy consumption per capita can be interpreted in several ways. On the one hand, a high score can infer profligate or wasteful use of energy, whilst a low one can infer limited access to energy for large elements of the population. In 2023, half of the ten highest rated countries were in the Middle East where demand for air conditioning is high for long periods of the year. Those ranked in the very lowest levels are generally considered to be of developing nation status or are relatively less densely populated. It is one way of considering the extent to which there is universal access to energy, a key element of the energy transition, within a given country.
The ratio of energy use to GDP considers the total energy used to support economic and social activity. In aggregating all energy consumption resulting from a wide range of production and consumption activities, it is one measure of how efficient an economy is at using energy. Whilst Ireland appears lowest, this is a result of an adjustment rather than a material reduction in intensity. From 2015, several large multinationals relocated their economic activities and underlying intellectual property to Ireland in order to access low corporation tax rates. GDP increased suddenly by 25% without any material impact on energy demand, hence a significantly low score. Of the countries notable for having large energy intensive manufacturing bases, Germany had the lowest energy intensity rating in 2023 at 2.7 megajoules per $ GDP, followed by Japan at 3.2, South Korea at 5.3, and China at 6.2.
The carbon intensity of the economy highlights how much CO2 a country emits per $ GDP it generates in economic activity. It is a measure used in some country's NDCs, for example, China has committed to lower the carbon intensity of its GDP by 60-65% from 2005 levels by 2030. Half of the ten countries with the most carbon intense economies are situated in the Middle East.
The methodology for compiling the EI Statistical Review of World Energy can be found here.
All of the data behind the charts used in this assessment are available as excel and csv downloads. The tables contain additional data for 1990, 2008, 2012, 2017 and 2023 for all countries itemised in the Statistical Review. This enables users to take a historical view of change over time but also to benchmark progress against the pivotal years of:
