{"id":375246,"date":"2025-04-16T10:25:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T08:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=375246"},"modified":"2025-04-16T10:25:21","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T08:25:21","slug":"the-mirage-of-milestones-debunking-embers-2025-global-electricity-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=375246","title":{"rendered":"The Mirage of Milestones: Debunking Ember\u2019s 2025 Global Electricity Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Charles Rotter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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https:\/\/ember-energy.org\/latest-insights\/global-electricity-review-2025\/<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Introduction: Cherry-Picking a \u201cClean\u201d Story<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ember\u2019s Global Electricity Review 2025<\/em><\/a> declares a milestone\u2014over 40% of global electricity<\/strong> now comes from \u201cclean\u201d sources. But before hanging up a \u201cMission Accomplished\u201d banner on fossil fuels, it\u2019s worth asking: what\u2019s missing from this picture?<\/strong> As it turns out, quite a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A deep dive into the report reveals a narrative built on selective framing, unexamined assumptions, and economic blind spots. It tells a story of solar triumph and fossil decline, but only by focusing narrowly on electricity generation<\/strong>\u2014which accounts for just a fifth<\/strong> of global energy use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This blog post exposes the omissions, distortions, and wishful thinking in Ember\u2019s review, and challenges the illusion that we are on the cusp of a clean energy utopia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. A Narrow Focus: Electricity \u2260 Energy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most critical flaw in Ember\u2019s report is also the most fundamental: it focuses exclusively on electricity<\/strong>, ignoring the rest of the global energy system. Electricity makes up roughly 20% of final energy consumption<\/strong>. The other 80%\u2014transportation, industrial heating, residential heating, agriculture, and more<\/strong>\u2014remains firmly tethered to fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By reporting progress in this sliver of the energy system while remaining silent on the rest, Ember inflates perceptions of decarbonization. No mention is made of the dominance of petroleum in transportation<\/strong>, gas in residential heating<\/strong>, or coal in industrial processes<\/strong>. Even sectors that are \u201celectrifying\u201d\u2014like electric vehicles and heat pumps\u2014are simply adding new load<\/strong> to the grid, not replacing old demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sleight of scope allows Ember to declare a global transition that exists only on paper<\/strong>, and only in the least fossil-dependent portion of the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The 40% Milestone: Triumph or Triviality?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ember heralds 2024 as the first year that low-carbon sources (renewables plus nuclear) surpassed 40.9% of global electricity<\/strong>. But what does that mean in practical terms?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hydropower (14.3%) and nuclear (9.0%) still dominate the low-carbon mix, yet both are geographically and politically constrained<\/strong>. Solar and wind together\u2014after decades of subsidies\u2014account for just 15% of electricity<\/strong>, and 6.9% and 8.1% of total generation<\/strong>, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, fossil fuels still make up 59.1% of global electricity<\/strong>, and much more of total energy. This milestone is like celebrating a \u201chealthy diet\u201d because one eats a salad with a bucket of fried chicken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Solar: Exponential Rhetoric, Subsidized Reality<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report portrays solar power as the \u201cengine of the global energy transition\u201d<\/strong>\u2014citing exponential growth, record-breaking capacity additions, and surging TWh. But scratch beneath the surface and two facts stand out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n