Energy trends since Paris treaty

In the decade since the landmark COP21 Paris agreement aimed to limit global warming, both a lot and a little has changed when it comes to the energy sector makeup and the trajectory of emissions.

- Gavin Maguire

A photo, dated Dec 8, 2015, shows a delegate posing with a replica of the planet during the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) at Le Bourget, near Paris, France. REUTERS

(REUTERS)

On the one hand, an explosion in renewable energy deployment and a surge in electric vehicle sales have upended global power and car markets and ushered in an ongoing "electrify everything" push across the planet.

On the other hand, global output and use of coal, crude oil and natural gas have continued to climb to fresh records, along with resulting energy use emissions, which in 2024 were nearly 10% more than discharged in 2015.

Below are 10 key charts spanning the global energy mix and power pollution trends to help take stock of where things stand as the COP30 climate meetings get underway in Brazil.

Total global energy supplies remain overwhelmingly fossil fuel-dependent, even after the fastest-ever rollout of clean energy supplies within a 10-year period.

Fossil fuels continue to account for around 87% of global energy supplies, thanks to historically high use of crude oil, coal and natural gas, data from the Energy Institute shows.

The good news for clean energy advocates is that the fossil fuel share is down from 89% in 2015, and will keep falling.