Released June 21, 2019 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--BP Plc (NYSE:BP) (London, England) is concerned. The 68th annual edition of its Statistical Review of World Energy, released June 11, reviewed global energy supply and demand trends for 2018 and concluded the world was on an "unsustainable path."
This is the first of a series of articles that will examine BP's 68th Annual Statistical Review of World Energy.
BP executives noted primary energy use rose 2.9% last year, the fastest rate of growth since 2010, leading to a 2% increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2018--its second consecutive year of growth after several consecutive years of decline. Executives also said coal use around the world continues to rise, drowning out the decarbonizing effect of a rapid rise in renewable electric generation like wind and solar.
Click on the image at right to see BP's estimate of global energy demand and CO2 emissions.
China, the U.S. and India accounted for about two-thirds of the overall growth in primary energy demand, BP said in its report, titled Energy in 2018: an Unsustainable Path. Demand for primary energy grew 3.5% in the U.S. last year, the fastest rate of growth seen for 30 years and a sharp contrast to the declining trend seen over the previous 10 years, Spencer Dale, BP's group chief economist, said in releasing the report.
Click on the image at right to see which countries accounted for what percentage of worldwide growth in primary energy demand in 2018.
Speaking of global trends witnessed last year, BP Group Chief Executive Bob Dudley said that 2018 "was just astonishing. There have been some incredible developments, and not all for the better. The first of those is by far the most unwelcome development: The world needs carbon emissions to fall dramatically, but they continue to grow."
The second significant development cited by Dudley was "the ongoing energy revolution in the U.S.," which he termed a "juggernaut." Last year, U.S. Oil & Gas producers delivered record production growth for oil as well as natural gas, the first time any country did that in the company's 68 years of compiling its annual statistical review of world energy trends.
The third development that worries Dudley and Spencer Dale, BP's group chief economist, is the continuing electrification of the world. Global power demand rose 3.7% in 2018, one of the strongest rates over the last two decades, Dale said. But it was the way that demand was being met that was worrisome to the BP executives. While renewables grew sharply and met about one-third of 2018's global growth in electric demand, and gas demand for power also increased, coal use also grew for the second year in a row. "That growth follows three years of decline and is a worrying trend, given the potential to reduce emissions by increasing electrification while pushing coal out of power," Dudley said.
Click on the image at right to see which fuels accounted for what share of the world's primary energy use last year.
"When it comes to cutting emissions," Dudley said, "electrification without decarbonization is of little use. Renewable energy has a vital role to play, but even growing as fast as it is - or faster still - it is unlikely to do it on its own. This is not a race to renewables, but a race to reduce carbon emissions on many fronts."
Dudley continued: "The world is not on a sustainable path. If anything, we are moving further away from it, rather than getting closer. There has to be a greater sense of urgency, because the longer carbon emissions continue to rise, the harder and more costly the necessary eventual adjustment to net-zero carbon emissions."
Dale contrasted "a world in which there was growing societal awareness and demands for urgent action on climate change, but where the actual energy data continued to move stubbornly in the wrong direction: a growing mismatch between hopes and reality."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
This is the first of a series of articles that will examine BP's 68th Annual Statistical Review of World Energy.
BP executives noted primary energy use rose 2.9% last year, the fastest rate of growth since 2010, leading to a 2% increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2018--its second consecutive year of growth after several consecutive years of decline. Executives also said coal use around the world continues to rise, drowning out the decarbonizing effect of a rapid rise in renewable electric generation like wind and solar.
China, the U.S. and India accounted for about two-thirds of the overall growth in primary energy demand, BP said in its report, titled Energy in 2018: an Unsustainable Path. Demand for primary energy grew 3.5% in the U.S. last year, the fastest rate of growth seen for 30 years and a sharp contrast to the declining trend seen over the previous 10 years, Spencer Dale, BP's group chief economist, said in releasing the report.
Speaking of global trends witnessed last year, BP Group Chief Executive Bob Dudley said that 2018 "was just astonishing. There have been some incredible developments, and not all for the better. The first of those is by far the most unwelcome development: The world needs carbon emissions to fall dramatically, but they continue to grow."
The second significant development cited by Dudley was "the ongoing energy revolution in the U.S.," which he termed a "juggernaut." Last year, U.S. Oil & Gas producers delivered record production growth for oil as well as natural gas, the first time any country did that in the company's 68 years of compiling its annual statistical review of world energy trends.
The third development that worries Dudley and Spencer Dale, BP's group chief economist, is the continuing electrification of the world. Global power demand rose 3.7% in 2018, one of the strongest rates over the last two decades, Dale said. But it was the way that demand was being met that was worrisome to the BP executives. While renewables grew sharply and met about one-third of 2018's global growth in electric demand, and gas demand for power also increased, coal use also grew for the second year in a row. "That growth follows three years of decline and is a worrying trend, given the potential to reduce emissions by increasing electrification while pushing coal out of power," Dudley said.
"When it comes to cutting emissions," Dudley said, "electrification without decarbonization is of little use. Renewable energy has a vital role to play, but even growing as fast as it is - or faster still - it is unlikely to do it on its own. This is not a race to renewables, but a race to reduce carbon emissions on many fronts."
Dudley continued: "The world is not on a sustainable path. If anything, we are moving further away from it, rather than getting closer. There has to be a greater sense of urgency, because the longer carbon emissions continue to rise, the harder and more costly the necessary eventual adjustment to net-zero carbon emissions."
Dale contrasted "a world in which there was growing societal awareness and demands for urgent action on climate change, but where the actual energy data continued to move stubbornly in the wrong direction: a growing mismatch between hopes and reality."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
