The world’s demand for electricity is set for a strong increase this year and in the coming year after dropping by 1% in 2020, states a recently published report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The IEA’s Electricity Market Report that was released on Thursday forecasts that global electricity demand will increase by almost 5% in 2021 and 4% in 2022, as global economies are recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
The organization’s report states that although electricity generation from renewable energy resources is continuing to grow strongly and is set to increase by 8% this year and more than 6% in 2022, it is not enough to meet the increasing demand.
The IEA’s report forecasts an increase of 3.5% this year and 2.5% in the year 2022 in carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity sector.
By seeing the complete picture, fossil fuels remain the dominant energy source when it comes to electricity generation. “Last year, coal was responsible for 34% of electricity worldwide, while gas accounted for 25%, Renewables and nuclear combined to take a 37% share,” the IEA said.
The IEA’s director of energy markets and security, Keisuke Sadamori said in a statement, “Renewable power is growing impressively in many parts of the world, but it still isn’t where it needs to be to put us on a path to reaching net-zero emissions by mid-century.”
Sadamori added, “As the economy rebounds after the pandemic, we’ve seen a surge in electrical generation from fossil fuels.”
To shift to a sustainable trajectory, there is a need to increasingly step up investment in clean energy technologies especially by using renewable energy resources.
