Fossil fuels accounted for 87% of the global energy mix in 2024, according to the 74th annual Statistical Review of World Energy.

Noting that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reshaped Europe’s approach to energy, the Review finds that “energy security and affordability remain central concerns competing with the need for climate action. These global disruptions are also contributing to a growing bifurcation in energy markets, with divergent regional strategies emerging; some doubling down on fossil fuel consumption and others accelerating decarbonization pathways.

“Amid this turbulence, energy remains indispensable to human activity and development,” the report observes. “Yet the patterns of demand and supply are shifting. In 2024, global energy demand continued to grow alongside every major constituent part of the energy system. We are living in a time of energy addition, sustained by an increasingly disorderly transition.”

Total demand grew by 2% in 2024, and for the first time since 2006, the world increased capacity for every major energy source, including nuclear and hydroelectric energy.

“Global natural gas demand returned to growth in 2024, rising 101 billion cubic meters (2.5%). Its share of global fossil fuels stood at 29% and it met a quarter of total global energy demand,” the Review says.

“Every region except Africa had higher gas demand,” it observes. “Asia Pacific saw the largest increase, a rise of 42 bcm, of which China represented two-thirds. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and North America witnessed rises of 22 bcm and 15 bcm respectively, whilst Europe experienced a modest increase of 6 bcm.”

For oil, global demand growth was less pronounced at just 0.7%. However, the Review points out that oil remained the largest source of energy, meeting 34% of global demand.

“Having initially rebounded following COVID, all regions exhibited either a slowing down or a plateauing in oil demand in 2024,” the Review says. “OECD demand remained flat at 45 million barrels a day, whilst non-OECD demand grew by 0.7 Mbbl/d. Africa and the Middle East were the fastest-growing regions at 2.5% and 1.6%, respectively.”

The Review attributes the relatively slow oil demand growth partly to economic headwinds. “China’s economic slowdown significantly impacted Asia Pacific demand, with oil demand declining amid the country’s rapid shift towards electric vehicles and LNG trucks,” it finds. “However, India and Southeast Asia provided offsetting growth.”

Electrification

Electricity demand continues to grow faster than overall energy demand, the Energy Institute reports. Last year, “all regions experienced significant growth in electricity demand in this new age of electricity, with Asia Pacific and the Middle East registering the greatest growth in electricity generation at 5.4% and 5.3%, respectively.”

According to the Review, the 2024 numbers reflect an ongoing trend. “In the last decade, global electricity generation has grown at 2.6% per annum, which is double the annual growth rate of total energy demand over the same period (1.3%),” it calculates. “This highlights how the global energy system is electrifying at pace.”

Aside from oil, every type of electricity generation grew in 2024. “Amongst fossil fuels, gas saw the biggest increase in generation, growing 2.5%, and coal grew by 1.2% to reach 10,613 terawatt hours and remain the largest source of generation,” the Review comments. “Generation from renewables, excluding hydro, increased by 14% and now accounts for 17% of total generation.”

With hydroelectricity, renewables accounted for 31% of power generation, the Review calculates. It adds that total installed solar capacity increased by 32%, while total installed wind capacity increased by 11%.

“Global biofuels production grew by over 8%, with the U.S. the largest global producer with a 37% share of global production,” the Review continues. “Additionally, the United States, Brazil and Europe combined account for around 75% of global biofuels use.”

If past trends hold, renewables will continue to grow. “Since 2000, the annual growth rate of renewable energy has consistently been above that of all other forms of energy,” the Review says. “Since 2006, their growth rate has averaged around four times that of the annual average growth rate of total global energy demand. Over the past five years, this has increased to over five times that rate.”

Emissions

Despite renewables’ expansion, the Review estimates that global emissions from energy grew 1% in 2024, setting record levels for the fourth consecutive year. Although China accounted for more than half of the new wind and solar capacity in 2024, it also played a significant role in new emissions.

“China remains the world’s largest single emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for around a third of global emissions. Along with India, it contributed 62% of the increase in global emissions last year,” the Review says.

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell for the second year in a row to 0.7% below 2023 levels, the Review reports. That is short of the ten-year average decline of 1% a year, it notes.

“Adjusting for COVID, European emissions fell for the sixth consecutive year and are nearly 16% below where they were a decade ago and are now three times lower than China’s,” the Review says.

The Statistical Review of World Energy was once produced by bp but has been managed for the past three years by the Global Energy Institute, a London-based organization for professionals involved in energy. This year, the Institute co-authored the report with the consulting firm Kearney and the accounting firm KPMG. In the foreword, the Institute thanks S&P Global Commodity Insights, bp and Heriot-Watt University for support.

For the full report, which includes more details on the trends discussed above, as well as commentary on trade patterns and data related to oil, natural gas, coal, hydrogen, nuclear generation, renewables and critical minerals, visit the Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy page.