Fossil fuel dominance to end in 2050

13th August 2019


Web fossil fuels shutterstock 103959545

Related Topics

Related tags

  • Energy ,
  • Fossil fuels ,
  • Renewable ,
  • Global

Author

IEMA

Nearly half of the world's energy will be supplied by wind and solar sources in 2050, with coal demand set to collapse everywhere except Asia and peak in the mid-2020s.

The predictions are published in Bloomberg NEF's New Energy Outlook report, which describes the middle of this century as “ending the era of fossil fuel dominance“ in the power sector.

It forecasts wind and solar to outstrip coal-fired electricity by 2032, and for zero-carbon sources to account for the two-thirds of power currently supplied by fossil fuels in 2050.

Global energy demand is set to rise by 62% during that time, partly thanks to a large increase in air-conditioning, but the intensity of electricity consumption per unit of GDP is set to fall 41% by then.

“Growth in power demand increasingly decouples from GDP,“ the report states. “We move from two-thirds fossil fuels in 2018 to two-thirds zero-carbon energy by 2050.

“For wind and solar that's '50-by-50', with these technologies supplying almost 50% of world electricity, ending the era of fossil fuel dominance in the power sector.“

The research combines expertise from over 65 market and technology specialists in 12 countries to provide a unique view of how electrical systems will evolve in the coming decades.

Solar energy is set to see the most growth, rising from 2% of the world's electricity generation today to 22% in 2050, with battery technology helping to drive demand.

The report forecasts $13.3trn of investment in new power generation assets by 2050, with 77% of this going to renewables. Wind attracts $5.3trn, solar $4.2trn, and $843 goes to batteries.

Electric vehicles will account for 9% of the world's electricity needs by 2050, with this rising to 24% in countries like the UK.

And more than two-thirds of today's population is forecast to live in countries where solar and wind or both are the cheapest source of new electricity generation.

“Just five years ago, coal and gas dominated that picture,“ the report states. “By 2030, new wind and solar ultimately get cheaper than running existing coal or gas plants almost everywhere.“

Image credit: ©Shutterstock

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

Facing the climate emergency challenge in local government

It’s well recognised that the public sector has the opportunity to work towards a national net-zero landscape that goes well beyond improving on its own performance; it can also influence through procurement and can direct through policy.

19th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) strategy is based on optimistic techno-economic assumptions that are now outdated, Carbon Tracker has warned.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s climate adaptation plans are ‘inadequate’ and falling ‘far short’ of what is required, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned today.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK’s net-zero economy grew 9% last year while delivering higher paid jobs than average and attracting billions of pounds in private investment, analysis by CBI Economics has uncovered.

28th February 2024

Read more

A consortium including IEMA and the Good Homes Alliance have drafted a letter to UK government ministers expressing disappointment with the proposed Future Homes Standard.

26th February 2024

Read more

Campaign group Wild Justice has accused the UK government of trying to relax pollution rules for housebuilders “through the backdoor”.

14th February 2024

Read more

Three-quarters of UK adults are concerned about the impact that climate change will have on their bills, according to polling commissioned by Positive Money.

13th February 2024

Read more

All major housing developments in England will be required by law to deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity under new rules that came into force today.

12th February 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close