Quick Bites | What Powered the World in 2024?

Quick Bite – What Powered the World in 2024?

Global energy use rose to 592 exajoules (EJ) in 2024, an increase of 2% and marking a new record in demand. Non-fossil fuels grew 7% year-over-year, bringing their share of the global energy mix to 13.5%.

In energy terms, EJ stands for exajoule, a unit of energy equal to 10^18 joules. An exajoule is a very large quantity of energy and is often used in discussions of national or global energy consumption.

While cleaner technologies continue to expand, traditional energy sources still form the backbone of the global energy system, making up 86.7% of the total. At the same time, the Asia Pacific region drove 68% of demand growth, reflecting the region’s rapid economic momentum and industrialization.

This chart shows the global energy mix in 2024, based on data from the Energy Institute.

Source: Voronoi, Visual Capitalist

Fossil fuels still power the world

Last year, oil, coal, and natural gas together supplied 86.7% of global energy needs. Oil remained the dominant energy source, accounting for 199 EJ, or 33.6% of global supply. In 2024, average oil prices declined by 3%, though they were still 27% higher than in 2019. The US held its position as the world’s largest producer, contributing roughly one-fifth of total output.

Coal followed at 27.9%, supported by increased consumption in emerging economies. Natural gas, which is cleaner than coal, supplied 25.2%, rounding out the fossil fuels.

Source: Voronoi

Low-carbon energy sources are growing at a meaningful pace. In 2024, their combined share rose to 13.5%, supported by a 7% annual increase. Wind and solar stood out, growing by 16% to remain the fastest-rising energy sources worldwide.

Nuclear energy accounted for 5.2% of supply, with France and Japan responsible for nearly two-thirds of its growth as long-idled plants were brought back online.

Rising Global Electricity Demand

As AI infrastructure continues to drive demand for power, electricity consumption increased across all regions. Overall, global electricity demand expanded at twice the pace of total energy demand, powered largely by renewables. From a regional standpoint, Asia Pacific (+5.4%) and the Middle East (+5.3%) witnessed the fastest growth in demand in 2024.