Global energy demand grew by 1.3%, or 8 exajoules (EJ), in 2025. This represents a notable slowdown in energy demand growth from 2024, when it increased by 2%. A range of factors explain this. Firstly, although the global economic expansion remained robust, the rate of growth was slightly slower than in 2024, with slower growth in energy-intensive industries in some regions. Secondly, lower temperatures relative to 2024 led to lower cooling demand. Thirdly, energy intensity improvements accelerated.

All energy sources contributed to meeting global energy demand growth in 2025, with solar PV and natural gas leading the way. Growth in solar PV met more than one-quarter of global primary energy demand growth, the first time on record that a modern renewable source contributed the largest share of the growth in global energy demand. Natural gas followed, meeting around 17% of global demand growth. Oil contributed around 15%, followed by solid bioenergy and waste. Coal demand growth slowed, due to declines in China and India. In all, low-emissions sources contributed nearly 60% of total energy demand growth. This was despite almost no growth in hydropower due to poor hydrological conditions in some major regions.

Demand for each of the three fossil fuels grew in 2025, albeit at a slower rate than in 2024. Coal demand increased by 0.4%, down from 1.4% in 2024 and translating to around 30 million tonnes (around 0.7 EJ) of additional consumption. Cooler weather and strong renewables growth were the major drivers of the slowdown. Oil demand growth also eased, increasing by around 0.65 mb/d, driven by petrochemicals and aviation as fuel demand for road transport growth remained muted as electric vehicle sales increased by over 20% to more than 20 million units. Natural gas demand increased by around 40 billion cubic metres (bcm). At 1%, the annual growth rate marked a notable slowdown from the 2.8% increase in 2024, as high prices curbed higher consumption.

China accounted for the largest share of global energy demand growth in 2025, as in 2024. However, this fact masks a sharp slowdown in its rate of growth, which at 1.7% was substantially slower than GDP and much lower than the annual increase seen a year earlier (2.7%). Sharp growth in renewables in electricity generation in China helped to push down coal consumption, with the knock-on effect of improving primary energy intensity.

The United States saw a notable acceleration in its energy demand growth, with demand increasing by more than 2% in 2025. This represents the second fastest increase since 2000, excluding years in which the US economy was rebounding from a recession. The United States accounted for nearly one-quarter of global energy demand growth. Part of this acceleration was due to gas-to-coal switching in electricity generation, but a harsh winter and very strong heating season in 2025, robust economic growth, and strong increases in electricity consumption for data centres also contributed.

Global trends were also impacted by a slowdown in energy demand growth in India, which at around 1% was among the lowest rates recorded in recent years. A strong, early monsoon and lower cooling needs pushed down growth in electricity demand, while a rapid expansion of renewables in electricity generation squeezed coal consumption. Meanwhile, in the European Union a cold winter, along with poor hydro and wind availability, pushed up demand for natural gas for electricity generation, even as high gas prices weighed on industrial demand. In other regions, energy demand growth was generally lower in 2025 than in 2024, except for in Africa and the Middle East.

Global electricity demand grew by around 3% in 2025 over 2024 levels, adding around 800 terawatt-hours (TWh). While faster than the long-term average, this rate of increase represents a slowdown from the blockbuster rise seen in 2024. One factor behind the slowdown was cooler weather in major regions with strong demand for air conditioning, including India. In 2025, the number of global cooling degree days, while still above the long-term average, was 6% lower than the record seen in 2024.

Global electricity demand in 2025 grew around 2.3 times faster than total energy demand. The drivers of electricity demand growth were broad-based. Demand from electric vehicles (+38%) and data centres (+17%) rose sharply; however, they still accounted for relatively slim shares of total electricity demand growth. Industry, household appliances and commercial buildings (excluding data centres) continued to provide the bulk of demand growth.

In advanced economies, electricity demand expanded by a robust 1.6% year-over-year, with particularly strong growth in the United States. Data centres accounted for around 50% of total electricity demand growth in the United States, with additional growth coming from the residential, industry and transport sectors. This aligns with projections in the IEA’s report Energy and AI report, which found that data centres are set to account for half of electricity demand growth in the United States to 2030.

Growth in electricity demand in China remained strong at 5%, though it slowed compared with the very rapid 7% increase in 2024, which was pushed up by extraordinary cooling demand growth. Electricity demand growth also weakened significantly in India, as a strong monsoon and cooler temperatures lowered electricity consumption for agricultural pumping and cooling.

Two main trends marked the evolution of global electricity generation in 2025. Solar PV posted a record increase of 600 TWh, taking its total electricity generation to nearly 2 700 TWh. This was more than double its output in 2022 and brings solar PV’s share in total global electricity generation to over 8%. The absolute increase of solar PV generation in 2025 is the largest ever observed for any source, excluding years marked by rebounds from global economic shocks such as Covid-19. Although China saw a huge increase in its solar PV generation, the growth of this source was a global story, with the United States, India and the Middle East all seeing increases of 20% or more.

The flipside of the strong growth of solar PV was a decline in global electricity generation from coal for the first time since 2019 (excluding the Covid-19 shock in 2020). China led the way here, with coal generation falling by around 1.5%, while India also saw a drop of 3%. In the European Union, coal power fell below 10% of total generation for the first time.

Natural gas generation continued to grow at the global level, but more slowly than in 2024. Meanwhile, nuclear power generation expanded by around 1.2%, reaching its highest level ever. Wind power generation increased by around 8%, held back by poor wind conditions in some major markets. Overall, growth in renewables and nuclear exceeded the entire global increase in electricity generation in 2025, while generation from fossil fuels fell slightly. Even so, fossil fuels continued to contribute more than half of global electricity generation, with coal remaining the largest single source.

A range of factors explain the slower worldwide energy demand growth in 2025. Global GDP expanded by 3.1%, compared to 3.3% in 2024. Global temperatures surged in 2024, pushing up electricity demand for cooling, and while 2025 was still a hot year, the effect of temperature variability in driving up energy demand was more muted in comparison. The share of renewables in electricity generation expanded even more rapidly in 2025 than in the previous year, and this improved primary energy intensity. Finally, the underlying rate of energy intensity improvements also accelerated.

A major trend shaping the global energy sector in recent years was the apparent slowdown in global energy intensity improvements in the post-Covid period. However, in 2025, global energy intensity improved by nearly 2%, in line with its long-term average from 2010 to 2019. This represented a notable acceleration from the recent trend of around 1.3% per year between 2019 and 2024.

However, the global numbers mask the important role played by China. The country’s energy intensity improvements slowed sharply from nearly 4% per year between 2010 and 2019 to just 0.6% per year from 2019 to 2024. In 2025, China’s energy intensity improvement jumped back to above 3%. Putting China aside, global energy intensity improvements would have appeared more stable in recent years. Understanding why China’s energy intensity slowed so dramatically in recent years requires further analysis. However, it appears to be in part because of adverse weather and partly due to structural changes in China’s economy after Covid-19 towards a more export- and industry-intensive model of growth.

2025 was the world’s third warmest year on record, slightly cooler than the all-time high set in 2024. However, these global trends mask different dynamics at the regional level.

In advanced economies, a colder winter in 2025 drove up heating demand and led to higher consumption of natural gas. We estimate that temperature variations contributed more than 16 billion cubic metres (bcm) of the around 40 bcm of global natural gas demand growth in 2025. In some regions, such as the European Union, poor wind conditions during cold snaps also drove up natural gas use in power generation. This highlighted the importance of power system flexibility and dispatchable capacity as the share of variable renewables increases. Beyond temperature variations, drought conditions in several regions, particularly in Europe and across Central and South America, reduced hydropower output, further contributing to the increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as the shortfall was largely met by fossil fuels.

For coal, the opposite trend played out. Cooling degree days (a measure of cooling needs) remained well above the long-term 2000-2019 average, sustaining elevated electricity demand for cooling in many regions. However, relative to 2024, global cooling degree days fell 6% in 2025. This trend was particularly marked in India, where an early and strong monsoon season raised hydropower output and lowered air-conditioning use. Overall, we estimate that without the effects of cooler weather, global growth in coal demand would have been slightly higher, rising by 0.5% instead of 0.4%, although still below the growth observed in 2024.

Global energy-related CO2 emissions rose by around 0.4% in 2025, continuing the long-term trend of slowing growth. However, emissions still hit a new record high of more than 38 billion tonnes (Gt) in 2025. Total CO2 emissions from fuel combustion and industrial processes increased by around 145 million tonnes. We estimate that the net impact of weather-related factors – including temperature variations and shortfalls in hydropower and wind – pushed up CO2 emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels by around 90 million tonnes in 2025, driven by higher natural gas consumption.

2025 saw a reversal in the long-term trend of declining emissions in advanced economies and rapid growth in emissions in emerging market and developing economies. In advanced economies, emissions rose by 0.5%, the first annual increase since 2018 (excluding the post-Covid rebound). In the United States, high gas prices led to gas to coal switching in electricity generation, while a cold winter drove up demand for natural gas. In the EU, emissions fell but by less than in recent years, due to higher heating needs and lower output from wind and hydro.

Emissions in China fell by around 0.5% due to declining emissions from both industrial process and electricity generation. Rapid growth in renewables and nuclear pushed down coal use in electricity generation; strong growth of electric vehicles kept a lid on oil demand, while a limited increase in cooling degree days curbed electricity demand growth. For the first time on record, emissions in India fell during normal economic conditions, previously having decreased only in 2020 and during the oil shocks of the 1970s. This decline was largely due to cyclical factors resulting from the strong monsoon, although renewables also surged.

Weather conditions had a notable impact on emissions in different regions in 2025. In advanced economies, weather pushed up emissions due to higher heating demand and lower wind and hydro output. Without these effects, emissions in advanced economies would have continued their long-term trend of decline. In China, the fall in emissions would be marginally larger if adjusted for weather effects. In contrast, weather played a substantial role in limiting rising emissions in other emerging market and developing economies, notably due to lower cooling demand in India and Southeast Asia.