Renewable energy keeps building steam

Article Excerpt

Under the challenging pandemic circumstances of 2020, the world used 5% less energy than it did the year before. But this was the first annual decrease since 2009. It was also the largest decline in global energy consumption since the end of the Second World War. While the Covid-19-induced lockdowns reduced global energy demand last year, the longer-term trend is likely up. Between 2009 and 2019, global demand increased by 1.9% per year, with most of the growth coming from large, developing economies such as China and India. Energy consumption in Europe declined marginally, while North America saw a small annual increase of less than 1% per year. According to the 2021 World Energy Outlook published by the International Energy Agency (“IEA”), energy demand will likely continue to grow through 2050. A steadily increasing global population and the rising affluence of the population in the developing world will help drive that growth. As developing economies mature, and renewable energy expands, growth in energy…