Are we replacing infrastructure or are we just adding capacity?
They are ultimately going to wind up as one and the same. We need to add more capacity before we can rid ourselves entirely of fossil fuel. Using grid power for things like HVAC, cooking, and electric vehicles means those devices get more CO2 efficient as the grid generation gets more efficient.
What is this number if you exclude China?
According to this source, largely unchanged. China's a touch above the average, but relies heavily on fossil fuel, with a large share of that being very dirty coal. Its campaign to install renewables is encouraging, though.
Took the words out of my mouth.
Though having over 70% renewables by 2030 feels like a stretch to me. Certainly would be great but I have my doubts. Maybe only my inner pessimist speaking.
It's a stretch but not a massive one - I think 2035 is more realistic. Solar deployments double around every 3 years so it'll double by 2027 and quadruple by 2030 and so on unless some limiting factor is reached
is it a win tho fossil fuel usage is still rising, the way renewable energy is being deployed in capitalist countries is that they are just another path for exploitation not a replacement for fossil fuels.
Energy think tank Ember found that major growth in wind and solar helped push global electricity production past this milestone in 2023.
Its authors say that this rapid growth has brought the world to a crucial turning point where fossil fuel generation starts to decline.
“You also have the invasion of Ukraine which increased the sense of urgency around transitioning to clean power and getting off relying on fossil fuels - not just coal but also gas, and particularly from Russia.
Plans were put in place to help individual member states reach renewable energy targets and deploy technologies at a national scale.
“Certainly you can't ignore that there was some demand [based] impact on the decrease in use of fossil fuels, but also there was a significant role of wind and solar replacing it.”
Normally this would have meant that the clean energy capacity added around the world last year would have caused fossil fuel generation to drop by 1.1 per cent.
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