Despite significant progress in renewable energy adoption, global carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector reached an all-time high for the fourth consecutive year in 2023. The findings, published in the Energy Institute’s annual World Energy Review, underscore the ongoing challenge of reducing fossil fuel reliance amid global instability.
The report reveals that overall energy supply increased by 2% in 2023, with every major energy source—oil, gas, coal, nuclear, hydropower, and renewables—seeing growth. Such across-the-board increases had not been recorded since 2006. This expansion pushed carbon emissions up by approximately 1%, setting a new global record of 40.8 gigatonnes of CO₂ equivalent.
Natural gas led fossil fuel growth, with a 2.5% rise in generation, followed by coal at 1.2%. Coal remained the world’s largest source of power generation. Oil consumption grew by less than 1%. On the other hand, wind and solar energy grew by a notable 16%, far outpacing overall energy demand.
The continued reliance on fossil fuels has coincided with accelerating climate risks. The year 2023 was the hottest ever recorded, with global temperatures rising above 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels for the first time.
The Energy Institute, along with consulting firms KPMG and Kearney, now leads this global report, previously authored by BP. Experts point to geopolitical instability—such as the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East—as significant disruptors in energy markets, further complicating the shift to clean energy.
While COP28 held in Dubai last year produced a bold global agreement to triple renewable capacity by 2030 and aim for net-zero emissions by 2050, experts warn progress is uneven and too slow.
“Despite record additions in renewables, we are not moving fast enough,” said KPMG partner Wafa Jafri. Romain Debarre from Kearney echoed this, noting that 2023 marked another turning point in energy trends driven by global conflicts.
