REPORTS

The International Energy Agency's annual report, titled 'Global Energy & CO2 Status', provides a snapshot of recent global trends and developments across fuels, renewable sources, and energy efficiency and carbon emissions, in 2018.

According to the report, global energy consumption in 2018 increased at nearly twice the average rate of growth since 2010, driven by a robust global economy and higher heating and cooling needs in some parts of the world. Demand for all fuels increased, led by natural gas, even as solar and wind posted double digit growth. Higher electricity demand was responsible for over half of the growth in energy needs.

Key findings in the report include:

Energy-related CO2 emissions rose 1.7% to a historic high of 33.1 Gt CO2. While emissions from
all fossil fuels increased, the power sector accounted for nearly two-thirds of emissions growth.
Coal use in power alone surpassed 10 Gt CO2, mostly in Asia. China, India, and the United States
accounted for 85% of the net increase in emissions, while emissions declined for Germany, Japan,
Mexico, France and the United Kingdom.

Oil demand rose by 1.3% in 2018, led by strong growth in the United States. The start-up of large
petrochemical projects drove product demand, which partially offset a slowdown in growth in
gasoline demand. The United States and China showed the largest overall growth, while demand
fell in Japan and Korea and was stagnant in Europe.

Natural gas consumption grew by an estimated 4.6%, its largest increase since 2010 when gas
demand bounced back from the global financial crisis. This second consecutive year of strong
growth, following a 3% rise in 2017, was driven by growing energy demand and substitution from
coal. The switch from coal to gas accounted for over one-fifth of the rise in gas demand. The
United States led the growth followed by China.

Coal demand grew for a second year, but its role in the global mix continued to decline. Last year's
0.7% increase was significantly slower than the 4.5% annual growth rate seen in the period 2000-
10. But while the share of coal in primary energy demand and in electricity generation slowly
continues to decrease, it still remains the largest source of electricity and the second-largest
source of primary energy.

Renewables increased by 4% in 2018, accounting for almost one-quarter of global energy
demand growth. The power sector led the gains, with renewables-based electricity generation
increasing at its fastest pace this decade. Solar PV, hydropower, and wind each accounted for
about a third of the growth, with bioenergy accounting for most of the rest. Renewables covered
almost 45% of the world's electricity generation growth, now accounting for over 25% of global
power output.

Electricity demand rose by 4%, nearly twice as fast as overall energy demand, and at its fastest
pace since 2010. Renewables and nuclear power met the majority of the growth in demand. Still,
generation from coal- and gas-fired power plants increased considerably, driving up CO2
emissions from the sector by 2.5%.

Energy efficiency across the global economy continued to improve, with global primary energy
intensity falling by 1.3%. But this was lower than improvement rates seen in recent years. Although efficiency was still the biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions abatement in the
energy sector, 2018 marked the third consecutive year in which the improvement rate for energy
efficiency slowed.

Source: IEA