This is the state of world's energy - in charts

Simon 

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People and businesses around the world used more power in 2021 than in the year before the pandemic, as lockdowns ended and energy demand bounced back, according to an analysis from BP.

The surge in demand is the largest in history and has helped to propel the energy system into its most turbulent period since the oil crisis of the 1970s. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has added to the turmoil, fuelling price hikes and threatening power shortages for some countries.

BP says emissions from energy have also rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. “Considerable progress has been made in sovereign pledges to achieve net zero, but those growing ambitions have yet to translate into tangible progress on the ground… The world remains on an unsustainable path,” says the company’s chief economist, Spencer Dale.

These charts illustrate the urgency in finding secure and affordable energy, while also tackling the climate crisis:

Global energy demand is higher than pre-pandemic levels. Image: BP

Primary energy use soared in 2021 – up by nearly 6% and more than reversing the steep drop seen during the 2020 lockdowns

BP says this was “entirely driven” by renewable energy sources between 2019 and 2021 with the level of fossil fuel consumption unchanged. Overall, energy use is estimated to be more than 1% higher than in 2019.

Surprisingly, the biggest increases in energy consumption were primarily seen in emerging economies, according to BP’s research. Countries like China and India set the pace as their economies bounced back from COVID-19 lockdowns. Energy demand in developed economies was actually lower in 2021 than 2019.

Higher carbon emissions go hand in hand with economic growth. Image: BP

Here’s the bad news: the big dip in carbon emissions during the lockdowns of 2020 has been cancelled out

When economies came back to life, emissions went up and BP’s sobering conclusion is that if you take the pandemic into account, emissions were “broadly unchanged” for the past two years.

On the plus side, use of renewable technologies continues to grow. Image: BP

There is better news on renewable energy – particularly wind and solar power

The use of these technologies continued to grow and in 2021 accounted for 13% of global power generation. Renewable energy increased by almost 17% in 2021, and for the past two years it has accounted for more than half of the increase in global power generation.

“The low-carbon energy sources and technologies needed to achieve a fast and deep decarbonization exist today… The challenge is to apply them at unprecedented pace and scale,” says Dale.

But there is a long way to go.

Fossil fuels still dominate the energy market. Image: BP

While renewable energy’s share of the global market is on the up – use of coal and gas remain much higher.

That needs to change fast according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The IPCC’s experts warned in April 2022 that unless countries accelerate their switch to renewable energy, the prize of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) could be out of reach by the end of the decade.