The latest data from the Global Energy Review reveals a surge in global energy demand in 2024, driven by higher consumption in the power sector and rapid growth in clean energy technologies.
Global energy appetite increased at a faster-than-average pace last year, with all fuels and technologies contributing to this trend. The power sector led the way, with electricity demand rising almost twice as fast as overall energy demand due to increased cooling needs, growing industry consumption, and electrification of transport.
The expansion of solar PV capacity played a key role in meeting this growth, with other renewables and nuclear power also seeing significant increases. Gas demand rose substantially, while oil and coal consumption grew more slowly than the previous year.
Despite this surge in energy demand, CO2 emissions from the energy sector continued to rise at a slower rate in 2024 compared to the previous year. This was largely due to record-high temperatures, which would have avoided around half of the increase in global emissions if similar weather patterns had repeated. Meanwhile, the rapid adoption of clean energy technologies has limited emissions growth, with new analysis suggesting an additional avoidance of 2.6 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
Source: https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2025