Georgina Rannard
Climate journalist in Baku

Image source, Getty Images

Believe it or not, the UN climate talks in Dubai last year were the first to agree that countries should “move away” from fossil fuels.

It sounds like UN jargon, but the deal was celebrated as historic by many because it finally addresses the role oil, coal and gas play in rising global temperatures. However, it was vague, without any time frame or precision.

And what has happened since then?

Good news: massive growth in renewable electricity, such as wind and solar power. THE International Energy Agency, external (IEA) now projects that the amounts of electricity produced from solar alone will quadruple by 2030 compared to 2023 levels. At current rates, we will still fail to meet our promise to triple all renewable energy from ‘by 2030 – but it will be close, with growth of 2.7 times more instead, says the IEA.

But fossil fuels still haven’t peaked. The United States increased its oil production compared to last year. Coal use is at record levels, estimated at 8.7 billion tonnes for the year, according to the IEA.

The thirst for energy is growing faster than we can produce renewable energy, thanks in part to our use of data centers and artificial intelligence.

Two-thirds of this increase in global demand was met last year by fossil fuels, according to the IEA. But what is important is that the share of the world’s energy supply coming from fossil fuels is decreasing and renewable energy is increasing.