Did you know that since 1980, our global energy consumption has doubled? Yes, doubled.
An even scarier statistic is that in just the previous three decades, 50% of all carbon emissions from fossil fuels were produced.
Even though renewable energy is becoming more popular and cheaper to build, our planet is facing its toughest battle with climate change yet.
But what countries are using the most fossil fuels? Which nations are fighting back by using more renewable energy? This article covers just that.
Which Country Consumes The Most Energy?
Based on consumption levels in 2020, it is unsurprising to see which countries make up the top 5 energy consumers in the world. With the highest populations, comes a higher energy demand. However, how does each country source its energy?
| Rank | Country | Energy (exajoules) |
| 1 | China | 145.6 |
| 2 | United States | 87.79 |
| 3 | India | 31.98 |
| 4 | Russia | 28.31 |
| 5 | Japan | 17.03 |
China
China has seen an increase in natural gas and renewable sources, switching from their primary use of coal. This has led to a rise to 15.3% in the renewables share in China’s total energy consumption. With global consumption continuing to grow, will we see more of a switch to renewables in the near future?
United States
Even though natural gas consumption has grown due to a boom in domestic fracking, overall energy demand has plateaued.
For the first time in 2019, monthly electricity generation from renewable sources overtook coal which is a promising sign. However, with 35% of consumption from petroleum and 34% from natural gas, there is a long way to go.
India
In 2020, 44% of the total energy demand in India is from coal, with a mere 3% from modern renewables. On the other hand, it is expected that solar power will see huge growth in India.
Within two decades, estimates predict that solar will match coal’s share in the Indian power generation mix.
Russia
Gas and oil are the main forms of energy consumption in Russia, with gas accounting for 53.67% of the countries share and 22.04% for oil.
Nuclear and hydropower make up around 12% of the total consumption. There are plans in place to increase renewable energy consumption with investments of USD 300 billion in renewable energy.
Japan
During the past decade, there has been a decline in primary energy consumption in Japan. Numerous factors such as an ageing and declining population with increased levels of energy efficiency have led to suppression in the country’s energy growth.
After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, natural gas, oil, and renewable energy consumption have increased, replacing the nuclear energy share.
How Much Of The Global Energy Is From Low-Carbon Sources?
When it comes to reducing global carbon emissions, switching to low-carbon sources of energy is the way forward.
Did you know that roughly 75% of greenhouse gas emissions are from the burning of fossil fuels for energy? In 2019, only 16% of the global energy was from low-carbon sources, such as nuclear and renewable energy.
But what countries use the most low-carbon sources for their energy?
| Country | Low-carbon energy percent | |||
| 1965 | 2019 | Absolute Change | Relative Change | |
| Iceland | 23.83% | 79.08% | +55.25 pp | 232% |
| Sweden | 33.54% | 68.89% | +35.35 pp | 105% |
| Norway | 66.50% | 66.18% | -0.32 pp | >-1% |
| Switzerland | 37.57% | 48.81% | +11.23 pp | 30% |
| France | 10.20% | 48.52% | +38.32 pp | 376% |
| Brazil | 26.32% | 46.18% | +19.86 pp | 75% |
| Finland | 22.85% | 44.77% | +21.92 pp | 96% |
We can see from this table that the top countries for low-carbon energy are from Western economies. This may be through income differences, with richer countries shifting away from fossil fuel energy systems.
Iceland topped the list with 79% of its energy coming from low-carbon sources. 55% of this was through hydropower and 24% through their unique geothermal energy resources. But what about the other end of the scale?
Which Countries Use The Most Fossil Fuels For Energy?
The combination of coal, gas and oil, fossil fuels are the biggest contributor to the global emissions of carbon dioxide. Some countries are making a huge effort to cut down on the use of fossil fuels, however, others are still to commit to the cause.
| Country | Fossil fuels percent | |||
| 1965 | 2019 | Absolute Change | Relative Change | |
| Oman | 100.00% | 100.00% | >-0.01 pp | >-1% |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 100.00% | 99.99% | >-0.01 pp | >-1% |
| Turkmenistan | 99.99% | 99.99% | +0.00 pp | 0% |
| Qatar | 100.00% | 99.95% | -0.05 pp | >-1% |
| Kuwait | 100.00% | 99.91% | -0.09 pp | >-1% |
| Hong Kong | 100.00% | 99.90% | -0.10 pp | >-1% |
| Saudi Arabia | 100.00% | 99.86% | -0.14 pp | >-1% |
| Singapore | 100.00% | 99.76% | -0.24 pp | >-1% |
| Algeria | 95.51% | 99.73% | +4.21 pp | 4% |
| Belarus | 99.99% | 99.36% | -0.62 pp | >-1% |
| Bangladesh | 100.00% | 99.36% | -0.64 pp | >-1% |
Is the world doing enough to decarbonise energy?
With startling figures on the world’s fossil fuel usage, can we be optimistic about the future and are we doing enough to reverse the effects of climate change?
Well, since the last 50 years, there has been some progress, even though there has been an almost 4 times increase in global energy consumption.
We have seen the share of low carbon sources more than double. Just think, in the 1960s, renewables or nuclear only accounted for 6% of the global energy.
However, since the 1990s, progression has been slow:
- 1994 – 13.5% from low-carbon sources
- 2020 – 16% from low-carbon sources
Yes, it is moving in the right direction, but at the rate we are outputting greenhouse gasses, this is way too slow to have an outstanding impact on the planet. But on a global scale, has there been much of a shift in the overall energy mix?
Is The Global Energy Mix Changing?
The energy mix is a breakdown of the share in which each source of fuel is used. in the UK, energy suppliers are required to give their fuel mix, this is similar but on a global scale.
| Year | Fossil Fuels | Low-carbon energy (Renewables + Nuclear) | Renewables | Nuclear |
| 1970 | 94% | 6% | 5.6% | 0.4% |
| 1980 | 91.6% | 8.4% | 6% | 2.4% |
| 1990 | 88% | 12% | 6.4% | 5.6% |
| 2000 | 87% | 13% | 7% | 6% |
| 2010 | 87% | 13% | 7.8% | 5.2% |
| 2019 | 84.3% | 15.7% | 11.4% | 4.3% |
We can see that there has been progress in terms of the reduction in fossil fuels and the rise in renewables. However, this is slow progress.
The majority of the gain that has been made through renewables have unfortunately been offset by the decrease in nuclear energy. Renewables have grown but nuclear energy has shrunk.
In the larger scheme, low-carbon sources have increased, but not as much as expected. If there was a similar increase in nuclear energy, that would have helped dramatically. But, even counting a rise in nuclear would still have attributed to slow progress since 1970.
Which Countries Have The Highest Share Of Renewable Energy?
Renewable energy can come from numerous sources, including hydropower, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and wave and tidal energy. Roughly 11% of the global primary energy was from renewable technologies in 2019, with hydropower being the leader of renewable sources.
| Country | Renewables percent (electricity) | |||
| 1985 | 2020 | Absolute Change | Relative Change | |
| Albania | 2000 97.11% | 2019 100.00% | +2.89 pp | 3% |
| Nepal | 2000 96.25% | 2019 100.00% | +3.75 pp | 4% |
| Lesotho | 2000 100.00% | 2019 100.00% | +0.00 pp | 0% |
| Antarctica | 2005 100.00% | 2016 100.00% | +0.00 pp | 0% |
| Bhutan | 2000 99.94% | 2019 100.00% | +0.06 pp | <1% |
| Paraguay | 2000 99.98% | 2019 100.00% | +0.02 pp | <1% |
| Iceland | 99.91% | 2019 99.99% | +0.07 pp | <1% |
Heating and transport are a lot harder to decarbonise due to being heavily reliant on oil and gas, so the renewables figures will for now show a higher share in the electricity mix, in comparison to the total energy mix.
What About Each Type of Renewable Energy?
Hydropower Generation
When looking at renewable energy, our oldest and largest source is hydroelectric power.
We can trace back hydro generation to more than a century ago and excluding traditional biomass, it is the largest renewable source, making up over 60% of renewable generation.
There has been a shift in Africa, with numerous countries seeing huge increases in hydropower generation. Below we can see the percentage change since 2019.
- Equatorial Guinea: +29,221%
- Sierra Leone: +1,100%
- Angola: +991%
- Ethiopia: +758%
- Sudan: +751%
Wind Energy Generation
Wind generation, such as onshore and offshore wind farms are a relatively modern renewable energy source compare to others. We are seeing rapid growth, with many countries across the world opting for this cheap source of energy. In 2020, the biggest users of wind energy were:
- China 466.50 TWh
- United States 336.53 TWh
- Germany 134.50 TWh
- United Kingdom 73.78 TWh
- India 60.41 TWh
- Brazil 56.68 TWh
- Spain 55.15 TWh
- France 39.23 TWh
Solar Energy Generation
Did you know that Germany has the largest solar fleet in Europe? China and the United States lead the global race, but in Europe, Germany stands tall.
By the end of the decade, plans are in place to increase Germany’s solar installation target to 100GW, aiming to see their energy mix boast a 65% share of renewable sources.
India and Japan also make the top 5 list of global solar energy generation. As the demand for solar increases, the costs of development are coming down.