New Delhi, May 15 (). Brazil, which will host next year’s G20 summit, has the largest share of clean electricity in the G20. This was stated in a report by energy think tank Amber on Monday. In 2022, Brazil aims to generate 89 percent of its electricity from clean sources, including 63 percent hydro, 12 percent wind power and three percent solar power.
Fossil fuels to account for 11 percent of Brazil’s electricity production in 2022. Most of this was gas (seven percent).
India, the current host, is far behind in decarbonizing its electricity system. It is the second most dependent on coal after South Africa. The country receives nine percent of its electricity from solar and wind energy.
Dave Jones, Head of Data Insights at Ember, said, “Brazil is way ahead of India in achieving clean electricity.
The two G20 hosts can learn from each other’s successes. India is marching ahead as a solar king. In 2022 it was getting five of its total electricity generation from it. Brazil have a headstart with a strong base.
In G20 countries, the share of coal electricity is gradually being replaced by wind and solar power.
Wind and solar power have reduced the share of coal electricity in G20 countries since the Paris Agreement, according to an analysis of data from the fourth annual Global Electricity Review published by energy think-tank Ember.
However, much remains to be done. Change is not yet happening fast enough.
The data shows that in G20 countries, the combined share of wind and solar power is set to reach 13 per cent in 2022, up from five per cent in 2015. In this period, the share of wind power doubled and the share of solar power quadrupled. As a result, coal-fired electricity generation in G20 countries is projected to drop from 43 percent in 2015 to 39 percent in 2022.
The share of other sources of electricity remained broadly stable, with fluctuations of only 1-2 percentage points.
Wind and solar can deliver more than a third of the emissions reductions needed in 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to the IPCC.
Replacing coal power with wind and solar power is the closest we have to a silver bullet for the climate, said Malgojerta Viatros-Motyka, senior analyst at Ember.
In the G20, progress on wind and solar power is mixed. Germany (32 percent), the UK (29 percent) and Australia (25 percent). Türkiye, Brazil, the US and China have consistently been above the global average. At the bottom are Russia, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
Thirteen G20 countries will generate more than half of their electricity from fossil fuels by 2022. Saudi Arabia produces almost 100 percent of its electricity from oil and gas. South Africa (86 percent), Indonesia (82 percent) and India (77 percent) rely on fossil fuels, mainly coal.
Among the advanced (OECD) economies in the G20, which should aim for a phase-out of coal by 2030, coal production is expected to decrease by 42 percent from 2,624 TWh in 2015 to 1,855 TWh in 2022.
The sharpest decline in coal power in the G20 has been achieved by the UK, which has reduced its coal production by 93 percent since signing the Paris Agreement, where 23 percent of electricity generated from coal in 2015, Only two percent is left in 2022.
Italy halved its coal power over the same period, while the US and Germany reduced their coal power by about a third. Even coal-dependent Australia has cut its share of coal electricity from 64 per cent in 2015 to 47 per cent in 2022.
Among the advanced economies in the G20, Japan stands out because it has not yet reduced its share of coal power, which accounts for about a third of its electricity generation.
Growth in wind and solar power generation has been an important factor in the success of these OECD countries in reducing electricity generation from coal. The UK and Germany stand with the highest shares of wind power at 25 per cent and 22 per cent respectively in 2022, while Australia and Japan top the G20 with solar power shares at 13 per cent and 10 per cent respectively in 2022.
Although the share of coal-fired power in G20 countries has decreased since the Paris Agreement, overall coal-fired power generation has increased as countries turn to coal to meet growing demand.
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