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Electricity Mid-Year Update 2025 Emissions: Power generation CO2 emissions are plateauing
Global emissions from electricity generation rose by 1.2% in 2024, following an increase of 1.6% in 2023. Last year was even hotter than in 2023 – making it the warmest year on record – with the heat waves boosting electricity demand for cooling. Nonetheless, growth in power sector emissions showed signs of slowing down as rapid deployment of renewables constrained increases in fossil-fired generation. As this trend continues, we expect 2025 emissions to plateau and remain relatively unchanged. In 2026, we forecast a slight decline of less than 1%, as the increase in low-emissions generation depresses fossil-fired…
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Global EV Outlook 2026 Electric vehicle batteries
…prices also contributed to downward cost pressure, although lithium and cobalt experienced notable price increases over the year. The recent increase in lithium and cobalt prices – if sustained – could put upward pressure on battery costs as stockpiles of minerals purchased at lower prices are being drained.Lithium prices at the beginning of 2026 were more than twice as high as in the same period in 2025, even though they remained around 70% lower than their 2022 peak. Several factors contributed to this rise, including faster‑than‑anticipated demand growth – particularly from the battery energy storage sector –, relatively low inventories in China and…
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The Value of Demand Flexibility Executive summary
With global electricity demand rising and set to add around 1 000 TWh each year until 2035, new ways of managing the balance between supply and demand are needed. Demand flexibility – the ability to adjust the timing or amount of electricity use in response to system needs – is central to help achieve this balance. Advances in digitalisation, including the growing use of AI tools, are further enhancing the ability to deploy flexibility effectively.This policy brief, part of the 3DEN Initiative, presents a concise framework for understanding demand flexibility and its value across the energy system, highlighting that it can:Enhance power…
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Global Methane Tracker 2026 Key findings
No sign that global energy-related methane emissions fell in 2025 despite progress in some areas The fossil fuel sector accounts for around 35% of methane emissions from human activity, yet there is still no sign that methane emissions from fossil fuel operations are falling, despite well-known and proven mitigation pathways. Oil, gas and coal production output reached record highs in 2025, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that methane emissions from these activities total 124 million tonnes (Mt) a year: oil is the largest source at 45 Mt, followed by coal at 43 Mt, and natural gas at 36 Mt. A…
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Lithuania 2025 Executive summary
Energy independence is the key principle guiding Lithuania’s energy strategy. Lithuania moved with pace and determination to end its reliance on energy imports from the Russian Federation (hereafter, “Russia”). Thanks to strategic infrastructure investments, Lithuania is an important regional energy hub, and with the recently completed electricity grid synchronisation with the Continental European Synchronous Area (CESA), the Baltic states have successfully disconnected from the Russian-controlled system. While these are important achievements, Lithuania’s final energy consumption remains highly reliant on imported fossil fuels, notably in transport, and a significant share of electricity demand is met by imports. This…
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Unlocking Ukraine’s Hydrogen Opportunity: A Roadmap Unlocking the opportunity - A roadmap for action
Highlights Hydrogen represents a long-term opportunity for Ukraine, but action is required in the near term to unlock the full benefits. Work over the first 2-3 years after the war ends can lay the foundations for future market growth without large commitments, such as through studies, planning for regulation and de-risking. In a second stage (5 years) pilot projects would be built to develop experience in the private sector and inform policy. A final stage (10-20 years) would incorporate lessons learnt, with a focus on standardisation, replication and simplification to support large-scale deployment. Each stage…
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Gas Market Lessons from the 2022-2023 Energy Crisis Policy response to the crisis
…governments across the main LNG-importing regions rapidly implemented policy and market measures in response to the crisis. Europe The European Union and its member states adopted a number of measures to enhance security of supply and market resilience ahead of the 2022/23 heating season. However, the European Union’s preparation in handling gas market shocks dates back to well before the emergence of the 2022-2023 crisis.Over more than a decade, the European Union rolled out successive regulatory packages that introduced the fundamental principles of unbundling of energy infrastructure from production and supply activities and of third…
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Electricity Mid-Year Update 2025 Supply: Renewables grow the most, followed by gas and nuclear
As highlighted in our annual Electricity 2025 report, low-emissions energy sources are reaching new milestones globally in our forecast period. Renewables are poised to surpass coal-fired generation, depending on weather trends and economic developments, either as early as 2025 or in 2026. As a result, coal’s share in total generation is set to drop below 33% for the first time in the last 100 years.Solar PV and wind energy are key drivers of this trend, with their combined share in global electricity generation expected to rise from 15% in 2024 to 17% in 2025 and to above…
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Renewables 2022 Transport biofuels
…In Europe, falling transport fuel demand nearly stalls volume growth even though state-level policies are increasingly stringent. Globally, the biofuel share in transport fuel consumption climbs from 4.3% to 5.4% during 2022-2027. Biojet fuel to make up 1-2% of jet fuel globally by 2027 Biojet fuel demand expands to 3 900 MLPY in our main-case forecast – 37 times the 2021 level – to account for nearly 1% of total jet fuel consumption. Recent US and EU policies prompt most of this growth. In the United States, tax credits included in the IRA and measures in…
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Pledges to Progress 2025 Executive summary
At COP28, more than 50 of the world’s leading oil and gas companies launched the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC), laying out a series of ambitions to achieve net zero operational emissions by 2050. As global methane and flaring emissions continue to rise, these ambitions are more important than ever to reduce energy waste and mitigate the harmful consequences of climate change.To support accountability and transparency, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) set out a framework of 25 metrics to assess and track…
