World energy consumption is the total energy
used by the entire human civilization.
Typically measured per year, it involves all
energy harnessed from every energy source
applied towards humanity's endeavours across
every single industrial and technological
sector, across every country.
It does not include energy from food, and
the extent to which direct biomass burning
has been accounted for is poorly documented.
Being the power source metric of civilization,
World Energy Consumption has deep implications
for humanity's socio-economic-political sphere.
Institutions such as the International Energy
Agency (IEA), the U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA), and the European Environment
Agency (EEA) record and publish energy data
periodically.
Improved data and understanding of World Energy
Consumption may reveal systemic trends and
patterns, which could help frame current energy
issues and encourage movement towards collectively
useful solutions.
Closely related to energy consumption is the
concept of total primary energy supply (TPES),
which - on a global level - is the sum of
energy production minus storage changes.
Since changes of energy storage over the year
are minor, TPES values can be used as an estimator
for energy consumption.
However, TPES ignores conversion efficiency,
overstating forms of energy with poor conversion
efficiency (e.g. coal, gas and nuclear) and
understating forms already accounted for in
converted forms (e.g. photovoltaic or hydroelectricity).
The IEA estimates that, in 2013, total primary
energy supply (TPES) was 1.575 × 1017 Wh
(= 157.5 PWh, 157,500 TWh, 5.67 × 1020 joules,
or 13,541 Mtoe) or about 18 TW-year.
From 2000–2012 coal was the source of energy
with the largest growth.
The use of oil and natural gas also had considerable
growth, followed by hydropower and renewable
energy.
Renewable energy grew at a rate faster than
any other time in history during this period.
The demand for nuclear energy decreased, in
part due to nuclear disasters (e.g.
Three Mile Island 1979, Chernobyl 1986, and
Fukushima 2011).
More recently, consumption of coal has declined
relative to "renewable" energy.
Updating the pie chart to the right ("World
total primary energy consumption by fuel in
2015") with 2017 measures from the same source,
coal dropped from about 29% of the global
total to 27%, and non-hydro renewables were
up to about 4% from 2%.In 2011, expenditures
on energy totalled over 6 trillion USD, or
about 10% of the world gross domestic product
(GDP).
Europe spends close to one-quarter of the
world's energy expenditures, North America
close to 20%, and Japan 6%.
== Overview ==
=== Energy supply, consumption and electricity
===
World total primary energy supply (TPES),
or "primary energy" differs from the world
final energy consumption because much of the
energy that is acquired by humans is lost
as other forms of energy during the process
of its refinement into usable forms of energy
and its transport from its initial place of
supply to consumers.
For instance, when oil is extracted from the
ground it must be refined into gasoline, so
that it can be used in a car, and transported
over long distances to gas stations where
it can be used by consumers.
World final energy consumption refers to the
fraction of the world's primary energy that
is used in its final form by humanity.
Also one needs to bear in mind that there
are different qualities of energy.
Heat, especially at a relatively low temperature,
is low-quality energy, whereas electricity
is high-quality energy.
It takes around 3 kWh of heat to produce 1
kWh of electricity.
But by the same token, a kilowatt-hour of
this high-quality electricity can be used
to pump several kilowatt-hours of heat into
a building using a heat pump.
And electricity can be used in many ways in
which heat cannot.
So the "loss" of energy incurred when generating
electricity is not the same as a loss due,
say, to resistance in power lines
In 2014, world primary energy supply amounted
to 155,481 terawatt-hour (TWh) or 13,541 Mtoe,
while the world final energy consumption was
109,613 TWh or about 29.5% less than the total
supply.
World final energy consumption includes products
as lubricants, asphalt and petrochemicals
which have chemical energy content but are
not used as fuel.
This non-energy use amounted to
9,723 TWh (836 Mtoe) in 2015.
The United States Energy Information Administration
(EIA) regularly publishes a report on world
consumption for most types of primary energy
resources.
For 2013, estimated world energy consumption
was 5.67 × 1020 joules, or 157,481 TWh.
According to the IEA the total world energy
consumption in past years was 143,851 TWh
in 2008, 133,602 TWh in 2005, 117,687 TWh
in 2000, and 102,569 TWh in 1990.
In 2012 approximately 22% of world energy
was consumed in North America, 5% was consumed
South and Central America, 23% was consumed
in Europe and Eurasia, 3% was consumed in
Africa, and 40% was consumed in the Asia Pacific
region.
=== Electricity generation ===
The total amount of electricity consumed worldwide
was 19,504 TWh in 2013, 16,503 TWh in 2008,
15,105 TWh in 2005, and 12,116 TWh in 2000.
By the end of 2014, the total installed electricity
generating capacity worldwide was nearly 6.142
TW (million MW) which only includes generation
connected to local electricity grids.
In addition there is an unknown amount of
heat and electricity consumed off-grid by
isolated villages and industries.
In 2014, the share of world energy consumption
for electricity generation by source was coal
at 40.8%, natural gas at 21.6%, nuclear at
10.6%, hydro at 16.4%, other sources (solar,
wind, geothermal, biomass, etc.) at 6.3% and
oil at 4.3%.
Coal and natural gas were the most used energy
fuels for generating electricity.
The world's electricity consumption was 18,608
TWh in 2012.
This figure is about 18% smaller than the
generated electricity, due to grid losses,
storage losses, and self-consumption from
power plants (gross generation).
Cogeneration (CHP) power stations use some
of the heat that is otherwise wasted for use
in buildings or in industrial processes.
In 2016 while total world energy came from
80% fossil fuels, 10% biofuels, 5% nuclear
and 5% renewable (hydro, wind, solar, geothermal),
only 18% of that total world energy was in
the form of electricity.
Most of the other 82% was used for heat and
transportation.
Recently there has been a large increase in
international agreements and national Energy
Action Plans, such as the EU 2009 Renewable
Energy Directive, to increase the use of renewable
energy due to the growing concerns about pollution
from energy sources that come from fossil
fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas.
One such initiative was the United Nations
Development Programme's World Energy Assessment
in 2000 that highlighted many challenges humanity
would have to overcome in order to shift from
fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
From 2000–2012 renewable energy grew at
a rate higher than any other point in history,
with a consumption increase of 176.5 million
tonnes of oil.
During this period, oil, coal, and natural
gas continued to grow and had increases that
were much higher than the increase in renewable
energy.
The following figures illustrate the growth
in consumption of fossil fuels such as oil,
coal, and natural gas as well as renewable
sources of energy during this period.
=== Trends ===
The energy consumption growth in the G20 slowed
down to 2% in 2011, after the strong increase
of 2010.
The economic crisis is largely responsible
for this slow growth.
For several years now, the world energy demand
is characterized by the bullish Chinese and
Indian markets, while developed countries
struggle with stagnant economies, high oil
prices, resulting in stable or decreasing
energy consumption.According to IEA data from
1990 to 2008, the average energy use per person
increased 10% while world population increased
27%.
Regional energy use also grew from 1990 to
2008: the Middle East increased by 170%, China
by 146%, India by 91%, Africa by 70%, Latin
America by 66%, the USA by 20%, the EU-27
block by 7%, and world overall grew by 39%.
In 2008, total worldwide primary energy consumption
was 132,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) or 474 exajoules
(EJ).
In 2012, primary energy demand increased to
158,000 TWh (567 EJ).Energy consumption in
the G20 increased by more than 5% in 2010
after a slight decline of 2009.
In 2009, world energy consumption decreased
for the first time in 30 years by 1.1%, or
about 130 million tonnes of oil equivalent
(Mtoe), as a result of the financial and economic
crisis, which reduced world GDP by 0.6% in
2009.This evolution is the result of two contrasting
trends: Energy consumption growth remained
vigorous in several developing countries,
specifically in Asia (+4%).
Conversely, in OECD, consumption was severely
cut by 4.7% in 2009 and was thus almost down
to its 2000 levels.
In North America, Europe and the CIS, consumptions
shrank by 4.5%, 5% and 8.5% respectively due
to the slowdown in economic activity.
China became the world's largest energy consumer
(18% of the total) since its consumption surged
by 8% during 2009 (up from 4% in 2008).
Oil remained the largest energy source (33%)
despite the fact that its share has been decreasing
over time.
Coal posted a growing role in the world's
energy consumption: in 2009, it accounted
for 27% of the total.
Most energy is used in the country of origin,
since it is cheaper to transport final products
than raw materials.
In 2008, the share export of the total energy
production by fuel was: oil 50% (1,952/3,941
Mt), gas 25% (800/3,149 bcm) and hard coal
14% (793/5,845 Mt).Most of the world's high
energy resources are from the conversion of
the sun's rays to other energy forms after
being incident upon the planet.
Some of that energy has been preserved as
fossil energy, some is directly or indirectly
usable; for example, via solar PV/thermal,
wind, hydro- or wave power.
The total solar irradiance is measured by
satellite to be roughly 1361 watts per square
meter (see solar constant), though it fluctuates
by about 6.9% during the year due to the Earth's
varying distance from the sun.
This value, after multiplication by the cross-sectional
area intercepted by the Earth, is the total
rate of solar energy received by the planet;
about half, 89,000 TW, reaches the Earth's
surface.The estimates of remaining non-renewable
worldwide energy resources vary, with the
remaining fossil fuels totaling an estimated
0.4 yottajoule (YJ) or 4 × 1023 joules, and
the available nuclear fuel such as uranium
exceeding 2.5 YJ.
Fossil fuels range from 0.6 to 3 YJ if estimates
of reserves of methane clathrates are accurate
and become technically extractable.
The total power flux from the sun intercepting
the Earth is 5.5 YJ per year, though not all
of this is available for human consumption.
The IEA estimates for the world to meet global
energy demand for the two decades from 2015
to 2035 it will require investment of $48
trillion and "credible policy frameworks."According
to IEA (2012) the goal of limiting warming
to 2 °C is becoming more difficult and costly
with each year that passes.
If action is not taken before 2017, CO2 emissions
would be locked-in by energy infrastructure
existing in 2017.
Fossil fuels are dominant in the global energy
mix, supported by $523 billion subsidies in
2011, up almost 30% on 2010 and six times
more than subsidies to renewables.
=== Emissions ===
Global warming emissions resulting from energy
production are an environmental problem.
Efforts to resolve this include the Kyoto
Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015),
international governmental agreements aiming
to reduce harmful climate impacts, which a
number of nations have signed.
Limiting global temperature increase to 2
degrees Celsius, thought to be a risk by the
SEI, is now doubtful.
To limit global temperature to a hypothetical
2 degrees Celsius rise would demand a 75%
decline in carbon emissions in industrial
countries by 2050, if the population is 10
billion in 2050.
Across 40 years, this averages to a 2% decrease
every year.
In 2011, the emissions of energy production
continued rising regardless of the consensus
of the basic problem.
Hypothetically, according to Robert Engelman
(Worldwatch institute), in order to prevent
collapse, human civilization would have to
stop increasing emissions within a decade
regardless of the economy or population (2009).Greenhouse
gases are not the only emissions of energy
production and consumption.
Large amounts of pollutants such as sulphurous
oxides (SOx), nitrous oxides (NOx), and particulate
matter (PM) are produced from the combustion
of fossil fuels and biomass; the World Health
Organization estimates that 7 million premature
deaths are caused each year by air pollution.
Biomass combustion is a major contributor.
In addition to producing air pollution like
fossil fuel combustion, most biomass has high
CO2 emissions.
== By source ==
=== Fossil fuels ===
The twentieth century saw a rapid twenty-fold
increase in the use of fossil fuels.
Between 1980 and 2006, the worldwide annual
growth rate was 2%.
According to the US Energy Information Administration's
2006 estimate, the estimated 471.8 EJ total
consumption in 2004, was divided as given
in the table above, with fossil fuels supplying
86% of the world's energy:
==== Coal ====
In 2000, China accounted for 28% of world
coal consumption, other Asia consumed 19%,
North America 25% and the EU 14%.
The single greatest coal-consuming country
is China.
Its share of the world coal production was
28% in 2000 and rose to 48% in 2009.
In contrast to China's ~70% increase in coal
consumption, world coal use increased 48%
from 2000 to 2009.
In practice, the majority of this growth occurred
in China and the rest in other Asia.
China's energy consumption is mostly driven
by the industry sector, the majority of which
comes from coal consumption.World annual coal
production increased 1,905 Mt or 32% in 6
years in 2011 compared to 2005, of which over
70% was in China and 8% in India.
Coal production was in 2011 7,783 Mt, and
2009 6,903 Mt, equal to 12.7% production increase
in two years.If production and consumption
of coal continue at the rate as in 2008, proven
and economically recoverable world reserves
of coal would last for about 150 years.
This is much more than needed for an irreversible
climate catastrophe.
Coal is the largest source of carbon dioxide
emissions in the world.
According to James Hansen the single most
important action needed to tackle the climate
crisis is to reduce CO2 emissions from coal.
Indonesia and Australia exported together
57.1% of the world coal export in 2011.
China, Japan, South Korea, India and Taiwan
had 65% share of all the world coal import
in 2011.
==== Oil ====
Coal fueled the industrial revolution in the
18th and 19th century.
With the advent of the automobile, aeroplanes
and the spreading use of electricity, oil
became the dominant fuel during the twentieth
century.
The growth of oil as the largest fossil fuel
was further enabled by steadily dropping prices
from 1920 until 1973.
After the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979, during
which the price of oil increased from 5 to
45 US dollars per barrel, there was a shift
away from oil.
Coal, natural gas, and nuclear became the
fuels of choice for electricity generation
and conservation measures increased energy
efficiency.
In the U.S. the average car more than doubled
the number of miles per gallon.
Japan, which bore the brunt of the oil shocks,
made spectacular improvements and now has
the highest energy efficiency in the world.
From 1965 to 2008, the use of fossil fuels
has continued to grow and their share of the
energy supply has increased.
From 2003 to 2008, coal was the fastest growing
fossil fuel.It is estimated that between 100
and 135 billion tonnes of oil has been consumed
between 1850 and the present.
==== Natural Gas ====
In 2009, the world use of natural gas grew
31% compared to 2000.
66% of this growth was outside EU, North America,
Latin America, and Russia.
Others include the Middle East, Asia, and
Africa.
The gas supply increased also in the previous
regions: 8.6% in the EU and 16% in the North
America 2000–2009.
=== Nuclear power ===
As of 1 July 2016, the world had 444 operable
grid-electric nuclear fission power reactors
with 62 others under construction.Annual generation
of nuclear power has been on a slight downward
trend since 2007, decreasing 1.8% in 2009
to 2558 TWh, and another 1.6% in 2011 to 2518
TWh, despite increases in production from
most countries worldwide, because those increases
were more than offset by decreases in Germany
and Japan.
Nuclear power met 11.7% of the world's electricity
demand in 2011.
Source: IEA/OECDWhile all the commercial reactors
today use nuclear fission energy, there are
plans to use nuclear fusion energy for future
power plants.
Several international nuclear fusion reactor
experiments exists or are being constructed,
including ITER.
=== Renewable energy ===
Renewable energy is generally defined as energy
that comes from resources that are not significantly
depleted by their use, such as sunlight, wind,
rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat.
Renewable energy is gradually replacing conventional
fuels in four distinct areas: electricity
generation, hot water/space heating, motor
fuels, and rural (off-grid) energy services.Based
on REN21's 2014 report, renewables contributed
19 percent to our energy consumption and 22
percent to our electricity generation in 2012
and 2013, respectively.
This energy consumption is divided as 9% coming
from traditional biomass, 4.2% as heat energy
(non-biomass), 3.8% hydro electricity and
2% electricity from wind, solar, geothermal,
and biomass.
Worldwide investments in renewable technologies
amounted to more than US$214 billion in 2013,
with countries like China and the United States
heavily investing in wind, hydro, solar and
biofuels.
Renewable energy resources exist over wide
geographical areas, in contrast to other energy
sources, which are concentrated in a limited
number of countries.
Rapid deployment of renewable energy and energy
efficiency is resulting in significant energy
security, climate change mitigation, and economic
benefits.
In international public opinion surveys there
is strong support for promoting renewable
sources such as solar power and wind power.
At the national level, at least 30 nations
around the world already have renewable energy
contributing more than 20 percent of energy
supply.
National renewable energy markets are projected
to continue to grow strongly in the coming
decade and beyond.The following table shows
increasing nameplate capacity, and has capacity
factors that range from 11% for solar, to
40% for hydropower.
From 2000 to 2013 the total renewable energy
use has increased by 6,450 TWh and total energy
use by 40,500 TWh.
==== Hydro ====
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to
electricity generated by hydropower; the production
of electrical power through the use of the
kinetic energy of falling or flowing water.
In 2015 hydropower generated 16.6% of the
world's total electricity and 70% of all renewable
electricity, which continues the rapid rate
of increase experienced between 2003 and 2009.
Hydropower is produced in 150 countries, with
the Asia-Pacific region generating 32 percent
of global hydropower in 2010.
China is the largest hydroelectricity producer,
with 2,600 PJ (721 TWh) of production in 2010,
representing around 17% of domestic electricity
use.
There are now three hydroelectricity plants
larger than 10 GW: the Three Gorges Dam in
China, Itaipu Dam in Brazil, and Guri Dam
in Venezuela.
Nine of the worlds top 10 renewable electricity
producers are primarily hydroelectric, one
is wind.
==== Marine energy ====
Marine energy, also known as ocean energy
and marine and hydrokinetic energy (MHK) includes
tidal and wave power and is a relatively new
sector of renewable energy, with most projects
still in the pilot phase, but the theoretical
potential is equivalent to 4–18 million
tonne of oil equivalent (toe).
MHK development in U.S. and international
waters includes projects using devices such
as, wave energy converters in open coastal
areas with significant waves, tidal turbines
placed in coastal and estuarine areas, in-stream
turbines in fast-moving rivers, ocean current
turbines in areas of strong marine currents,
and ocean thermal energy converters in deep
tropical waters.
==== Wind ====
Wind power is growing at the rate of 17% annually,
with a worldwide installed capacity of 432,883
megawatts (MW) at the end of 2015, and is
widely used in Europe, Asia, and the United
States.
Several countries have achieved relatively
high levels of wind power penetration, such
as 21% of stationary electricity production
in Denmark, 18% in Portugal, 16% in Spain,
14% in Ireland and 9% in Germany in 2010.
As of 2011, 83 countries around the world
are using wind power on a commercial basis.
Continuing strong growth, by 2016 wind generated
3% of global power annually.
==== Solar ====
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from
the sun, has been harnessed by humans since
ancient times using a range of ever-evolving
technologies.
Solar energy technologies include solar heating,
solar photovoltaics, concentrated solar power
and solar architecture, which can make considerable
contributions to solving some of the most
urgent problems the world now faces.
The International Energy Agency projected
that solar power could provide "a third of
the global final energy demand after 2060,
while CO2 emissions would be reduced to very
low levels."
Solar technologies are broadly characterized
as either passive solar or active solar depending
on the way they capture, convert and distribute
solar energy.
Active solar techniques include the use of
photovoltaic systems and solar thermal collectors
to harness the energy.
Passive solar techniques include orienting
a building to the Sun, selecting materials
with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing
properties, and designing spaces that naturally
circulate air.
From 2012 to 2016 solar capacity tripled and
now provides 1.3% of global energy.
==== Geothermal ====
Geothermal energy is used commercially in
over 70 countries.
In 2004, 200 petajoules (56 TWh) of electricity
was generated from geothermal resources, and
an additional 270 petajoules (75 TWh) of geothermal
energy was used directly, mostly for space
heating.
In 2007, the world had a global capacity for
10 GW of electricity generation and an additional
28 GW of direct heating, including extraction
by geothermal heat pumps.
Heat pumps are small and widely distributed,
so estimates of their total capacity are uncertain
and range up to 100 GW.
==== Bio energy ====
Until the beginning of the nineteenth century
biomass was the predominant fuel, today it
has only a small share of the overall energy
supply.
Electricity produced from biomass sources
was estimated at 44 GW for 2005.
Biomass electricity generation increased by
over 100% in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands,
Poland, and Spain.
A further 220 GW was used for heating (in
2004), bringing the total energy consumed
from biomass to around 264 GW.
The use of biomass fires for cooking is excluded.
World production of bioethanol increased by
8% in 2005 to reach 33 gigalitres (8.7×109
US gal), with most of the increase in the
United States, bringing it level to the levels
of consumption in Brazil.
Biodiesel increased by 85% to 3.9 gigalitres
(1.0×109 US gal), making it the fastest growing
renewable energy source in 2005.
Over 50% is produced in Germany.
== By country ==
Energy consumption is loosely correlated with
gross national product and climate, but there
is a large difference even between the most
highly developed countries, such as Japan
and Germany with an energy consumption rate
of 6 kW per person and the United States with
an energy consumption rate of 11.4 kW per
person.
In developing countries, particularly those
that are sub-tropical or tropical such as
India, the per person energy use rate is closer
to 0.7 kW.
Bangladesh has the lowest consumption rate
with 0.2 kW per person.
The US consumes 25% of the world's energy
with a share of global GDP at 22% and a share
of the world population at 4.59%.
The most significant growth of energy consumption
is currently taking place in China, which
has been growing at 5.5% per year over the
last 25 years.
Its population of 1.3 billion people (19.6%
of the world population) is consuming energy
at a rate of 1.6 kW per person.
One measurement of efficiency is energy intensity.
This is a measure of the amount of energy
it takes a country to produce a dollar of
gross domestic product.
=== Oil ===
Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States
accounted for 34% of oil production in 2011.
Saudi Arabia, Russia and Nigeria accounted
for 36% of oil export in 2011.
=== Coal ===
=== Natural gas ===
=== 
Wind power ===
== 
By sector ==
The table to the right shows the amounts of
energy consumed worldwide in 2012 by four
sectors, according to the Energy Information
Administration of the US Department of Energy:
Residential (heating, lighting, and appliances)
Commercial (lighting, heating and cooling
of commercial buildings, and provision of
water and sewer services)
Industrial users (agriculture, mining, manufacturing,
and construction)
Transportation (passenger, freight, and pipeline)Of
the total 120 PWh (120×1015 Wh) consumed,
19.4 were in the form of electricity, but
this electricity required 61.7 PWh to produce.
Thus the total energy consumption was around
160 PWh (ca 550×1015 Btu).
The efficiency of a typical existing power
plant is around 38%.
The new generation of gas-fired plants reaches
a substantially higher efficiency of 55%.
Coal is the most common fuel for the world's
electricity plants.Another report gives different
values for the sectors, apparently due to
different definitions.
According to this, total world energy use
per sector in 2008 was industry 28%, transport
27% and residential and service 36%.
Division was about the same in the year 2000.
=== European Union ===
The European Environmental Agency (EEA) measures
final energy consumption (does not include
energy used in production and lost in transportation)
and finds that the transport sector is responsible
for 31.8% of final energy consumption, households
26.2%, industry 25.6%, services 13.5% and
agriculture 2.9% in 2012.
The use of energy is responsible for the majority
of greenhouse gas emissions (79%), with the
energy sector representing 31%, transport
19%, industry 13%, households 9% and others
7%.While efficient energy use and resource
efficiency are growing as public policy issues,
more than 70% of coal plants in the European
Union are more than 20 years old and operate
at an efficiency level of between 32–40%.
Technological developments in the 1990s have
allowed efficiencies in the range of 40–45%
at newer plants.
However, according to an impact assessment
by the European Commission, this is still
below the best available technological (BAT)
efficiency levels of 46–49%.
With gas-fired power plants the average efficiency
is 52% compared to 58–59% with best available
technology (BAT), and gas and oil boiler plants
operate at average 36% efficiency (BAT delivers
47%).
According to that same impact assessment by
the European Commission, raising the efficiency
of all new plants and the majority of existing
plants, through the setting of authorisation
and permit conditions, to an average generation
efficiency of 51.5% in 2020 would lead to
a reduction in annual consumption of 15 km3
(3.6 cu mi) of natural gas and 25 Mt (25,000,000
long tons; 28,000,000 short tons) of coal.
== See also
