At a time when the peak of "green" virtue signaling has come and gone, we regret to inform you that all that jawboning and posturing has achieved... absolutely nothing because according to the Statistical Review of World Energy report released on Thursday, global fossil fuel consumption and energy emissions hit all-time highs in 2023 (even as fossil fuels' share of the global energy mix decreased slightly on the year).
Growing demand for fossil fuel despite the scaling up of renewables could be a sticking point for the transition to lower carbon energy as climate alarmist scream and rage that global temperature increases are set to reach 1.5C (2.7F), the threshold beyond which scientists say impacts such as temperature rise, drought and flooding will become more extreme; then again these are the same shrill activists who predicted in 2018 that the world would end unless we stop using fossil fuels by 2023. Not only has that not happened, but fossil fuel use is hitting annual records!
"We hope that this report will help governments, world leaders and analysts move forward, clear-eyed about the challenge that lies ahead," Romain Debarre of consultancy Kearney said, realizing with even clearer-eyes that absolutely nothing will change since the bulk of fossil fuel consumption now comes from China and India, both of which could give a rat's ass what some woke liberal kitten-hoarding, purple-haired screaming freak thinks.
Last year was the first full year of rerouted Russian energy flows away from the West following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and also the first full year without major movement restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, it confirms that attempts to throttle Russian sales of fossil fuels have been a total fiasco.
It gets better (or worse if you are a green lunatic): overall global primary energy consumption hit an all-time high of 620 Exajoules (EJ), the report said...
... as CO2 emissions exceeded 40 gigatonnes of CO2 for the first time.
"In a year where we have seen the contribution of renewables reaching a new record high, ever increasing global energy demand means the share coming from fossil fuels has remained virtually unchanged," Simon Virley of consultancy KPMG said.
The report recorded shifting trends in fossil fuel use in different regions. In Europe, for example, the fossil fuel share of energy fell below 70% for the first time since the industrial revolution.
"In advanced economies, we observe signs of demand for fossil fuels peaking, contrasting with economies in the Global South for whom economic development and improvements in quality of life continue to drive fossil growth," Energy Institute Chief Executive Nick Wayth said.
And since nobody dares to dictate conditions to the "global south" lest they stop producing the cheap crap demanded by the "global north" (to feed their ravenous consumerist habits) sparking epic inflation, nothing will change.
Industry body the Energy Institute, together with consultancies KPMG and Kearney, has published the annual report since 2023. They took over from BP which had authored the report, a benchmark for energy professionals, since the 1950s.
It will come as no surprise to anyone that fossil fuel accounted for almost all demand growth in India in 2023, the report said, while in China fossil fuel use rose 6% to a new high
Here are some highlights from the report on 2023:
CONSUMPTION
OIL
NATURAL GAS
COAL
RENEWABLES
EMISSIONS
By Zerohedge.com
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Comments
Fossil fuel dominance can never be offset by renewables even in the next 100 years. The reason is that fossil fuels will continue to drive the global economy well into the far future.
Dr Mamdouh G Salameh
International Oil Economist
Global Energy Expert