Energy has always been and remains central to human achievement and progress. It is also, increasingly, central to our very survival. With global temperature increases averaging close to 1.5°C, 2023 was the warmest year since records began, and the increasingly severe impacts of climate change were felt across all continents. We also experienced the continuing effects of geopolitical disruption on energy markets and the economies and livelihoods they support.Juliet Davenport OBE HonFEI, President, Energy Institute
As the chartered professional membership body for people working across the world of energy, the Energy Institute is proud to be the home of the Statistical Review of World Energy. Our aim is to provide an objective, independent and comprehensive evidence base for decision makers in governments, businesses and civil society grappling with these profound challenges.
In this second Statistical Review under the Institute’s custodianship, we report on 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 progress of the transition is slow, but the big picture masks diverse energy stories playing out across different geographies. This year we provide additional visualisations to bring these contrasts to life – from advanced economies where we see signs of demand for fossil fuels peaking, to economies in the Global South for whom economic development and improvements in quality of life continue to drive fossil growth.Dr Nick Wayth CEng FEI FIMechE, Chief Executive, Energy Institute
Global primary energy consumption reached a new record for the second consecutive year with non-OECD countries dominating both the share and annual growth rates. Fossil fuels continue to underpin their development accounting for 84% of their energy mix.
The contrasts between the northern and southern hemispheres is quite stark. Consumption of primary energy in the Global South first exceeded that of the Global North in 2014. In 2023 it accounted for 56% of total energy consumed and grew at twice the global average rate of 2%. The Asia Pacific region was responsible for 85% of the Global South’s demand (and 47% of global demand) where the economies of China, India, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea dominated. Whilst Southern & Central America, and Asia Pacific experienced growth rates above the global average, total demand in Africa dropped by 0.4% in 2023 and electricity consumption remained flat. Electricity demand in both North America and Europe experienced falls of -1% and -2% respectively. In these regions, electricity demand in particular is increasingly impacted by energy efficiency regulations, energy-efficient lighting, and changing consumer habits.
Today, both Africa and South Asia have very low levels of energy demand relative to the size of their population Europe and Southern & Central America are the only regions to be below both the global average for CO2 Intensity and Energy Consumption per GDP
Whilst collectively Africa and South Asia were responsible for less than 10% of the world’s energy demand in 2023, a prevalence of developing economies, large populations, low rate of access to energy today, potentially positions them for significant energy demand growth in the future.
It is estimated that globally around 750 million people – 1 out of 10 – do not have access to electricity to light their homes, refrigerate their food, or keep cool in rising temperatures and around 2.6 billion people rely on heavily polluting biomass fuels such as charcoal, coal, and animal waste for heating and cooking. In 2023 significant geographical variations were evident in the relationships between regional population sizes and regional energy consumption. In Africa, South Asia, and Southern & Central America, the average amount of energy consumed per person stood at 0.3 petajoules (PJ). This was in stark contrast to North America, the CIS, and the Middle East, where energy consumption per capita averaged 1.8 PJ. In North America, the ratio was over twice the global average of 1.1 PJ.
A similar pattern also played out for average greenhouse gas emissions per person where Africa, South Asia, and Southern & Central America averaged 2 MtCO2e relative to a global average of 6.7 MtCO2e. North America, the CIS, and the Middle East collectively averaged 11.5 MtCO2e, almost twice the global average. The exception was Other Asia Pacific that was just below the global average for energy consumption per capita but 0.7 MtCO2e above the global average for greenhouse gas emissions per person. This was primarily due to China, the world’s largest consumer of coal and second largest consumer of oil.
Along with sustainability and affordability, secure supply of energy is a key pillar of the energy trilemma. In 2023, the total international trade of oil, gas, and coal was 53% higher than it was in 2000. Collectively, North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions consumed 78% of the world’s total energy in 2023. Over the past two decades, North America’s energy system has been transformed by the growth in unconventional oil and gas that began in the early 2000s. As a result, in the past 10 years the region has moved from being a net importer of energy to a net exporter. In 2023, oil production in North America was 16% above its domestic consumption whilst gas production sat at 14% above its demand level. Since the 1980s, Europe has consistently been a net importer of energy.
Its biggest deficit in 2023 was in oil where production only met 23% of demand. Whilst European gas production was only able to meet 44% of consumption, the balance with coal was less severe with production meeting 58% of demand. The Asia Pacific region had the highest demand of any region in 2023, consuming 292 EJ of primary energy, 47% of the world’s total demand. Like Europe, it has consistently been a net importer of energy since the 1980s. In 2023, its biggest shortfall was in servicing its demand for oil with production only meeting around 19% of its consumption. Its gas position was more positive with production able to meet 74% of its demand. For coal, production in the Asia Pacific region achieved a surplus in 2023, with supply exceeding the region’s demand by 5%.
Primary energy and carbon
2023 saw a second consecutive record year for global primary energy consumption as it grew by 2%, reaching 620 EJ. Its growth rate was 0.6% above its ten-year average and over 5% above its 2019 pre-COVID level. Whilst a new record in the consumption of fossil fuels (in absolute terms) was recorded. In 2023, it fell to 81.5% compared to almost 81.9% in 2022. With demand for natural gas, a relatively low carbon-intensive fossil fuel, remaining flat, the increased use of more carbon-intensive oil and coal meant that energy-related greenhouse gas emissions also reached a record high, exceeding 40 GtCO2e for the very first time. CO2 emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels is by far the largest source of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions contributing around 87% of the total.
"2023 global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions exceeded 40 gigatonnes for the first time ever"
Natural Gas
Global gas demand remained stable in 2023 rising by just 1 bcm. This was not sufficient to recover the losses seen in 2022 when overall demand dropped by 0.4% (15 bcm). In Europe, natural gas demand fell by 7% (34 bcm) in 2023, down to its lowest level since 1994. Similarly, gas production in the region declined by around 7% driven by decreases in its top producing countries, Norway, UK, and the Netherlands. Gas demand in the Asia Pacific region grew nearly 2%, driven by China and India’s 7% growth increases. When combining all trade routes, whether by sea or pipeline, Russia's share of EU gas imports fell from 45% in 2021 to 24% in 2022, and then a further 15% in 2023 to sit behind Norway and the US. In just eight years, LNG exports from the US rocketed from just 0.2 bcm in 2013 to 114 bcm in 2023, making it the world’s leading LNG supplier, moving ahead of Qatar and Australia in 2023.
"The top four regions responsible for 80% of gas production are also responsible for 85% of its consumption"
Electricity and renewables
Global electricity generation increased by 2.5% in 2023 to reach a record level of 29,925 TWh. Recording a growth rate that was 25% faster than total global primary energy consumption suggests that the world’s energy system is increasingly electrifying. Whilst electricity demand in Asia Pacific and the Middle East increased by around 5%, demand in both Europe and North America fell by 2.4% and 1% respectively. Coal retained its position as the dominant fuel for power generation with fossil fuels overall forming 60% of global electricity generation. Renewables share of total power generation rose from 29% to 30%. At a regional level, Southern & Central America recorded the highest contribution from renewables at 72%. The share of nuclear remained flat at around 9% with new build in China and returns to service of plant in France and Japan being offset by the closure of Germany’s remaining plant. In 2023, grid-scale battery electricity storage system (BESS) capacity stood at 56 GW, nearly 50% of which was installed in China.
Oil production, refining, and consumption
In 2023, global oil production reached a record level of just over 96 million barrels per day. The US remained the largest producer seeing its output grow by over 8%. In contrast, Russia’s production decreased by over 1% as a full year of international sanctions were felt. Southern & Central America continues to grow rapidly post-COVID and recorded the highest growth rate (11%) for any region in 2023. In Asia Pacific, China’s production rose by 2%, accounting for around 57% of the region’s total production. Whilst the US lost its position as the largest oil refining market by capacity with China reaching 18,484 thousand barrels per day, throughput of refined products from China still lags the US with a utilisation of nearly 82% compared to around 87%.
Consumption of oil exceeded 100 million barrels of oil per day (mbpd) for the first time ever. Gasoline, diesel and kerosene (aviation) use are trending back to or beyond their 2019 levels, but within the data sets there are some national/regional differences. Whilst global gasoline consumption (25 mbpd) was just above its 2019 pre-COVID level, kerosene, although growing strongly (17.5% in 2023), has yet to return to its 2019 peak.
"In 2023, production from non-OPEC+ countries exceeded global incremental demand growth by 20%"
Nuclear power generation
Despite a small drop in total installed capacity, electricity generation from nuclear power plant increased in 2023 by 2%. However, it was still 58 terawatt-hours below its 2019 pre-COVID level and 2% below its peak output in 2006. Output from nuclear in Europe fell by 1% with the recovery of France’s nuclear fleet from prolonged outages in 2022 offset by Germany’s closure of its last three remaining units early in the year. China continues to lead the way in building new capacity. Since 2000 it has built around 60% of all new nuclear capacity additions. In late 2023, commercial operations began at its onshore small modular reactor (SMR) demonstration project, a world first featuring the latest Generation IV technology and incorporating inherent safety systems. Following events in Fukushima in 2011, Japan has gradually returned units to service and, in 2023 output increased by 50%. Whilst output from nuclear in the US remained relatively flat, it was still equal to the combined outputs of China and France, operators of the second and third-largest fleets.
Coal production and consumption
In 2023, global coal production reached its highest ever level (179 EJ), beating the previous high set the year before. The Asia Pacific region accounted for nearly 80% of global output with activity concentrated in just four countries, Australia, China, India, and Indonesia (jointly responsible for 97% of the region’s output). China alone was responsible for just over half of total global production. North America, Southern & Central America, Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States all saw their production fall relative to 2022 levels. Global coal consumption breached 164 EJ for the first time ever. An increase of 1.6% over 2022 was seven times higher than the previous ten-year average growth rate. Whilst China is by far thelargest consumer of coal (56% of the world’s total), in 2023 India exceeded the combined consumption of Europe and North America for the first time ever. Coal consumption in both Europe and North America each fell below 10 EJ, their lowest levels since 1965.
"Coal consumption in India exceeded the combined consumption of Europe and North America for the first time ever"
Minerals production
Whilst production of copper has grown at an average rate of just under 2% over the past ten years (it dropped by 1.6% in 2023), production of other minerals critical to the global energy system, continued to grow on average at around 4% per annum. The Asia Pacific region produced nearly 70% of the metals and materials critical to the manufacture of Li-ion batteries. Within this, China was both the world’s leading producer of refined cobalt and the world’s leading consumer of it, with nearly 87% of consumption used by the lithium-ion battery industry. As well as producing nearly 20% of the world’s lithium production, China also produced around 74% of its graphite supply.
Portugal holds the largest lithium reserve in Europe (around 60,000 metric tons). Whilst historically it has primarily focused on ceramics for glassware production, it is increasingly looking to enter the lithium market.
Although prices for metals and materials have fallen across the board from their 2022 highs, lithium carbonate prices sat at around 400% higher than their 2019 pre-COVID levels and copper some 140% above its.
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