– Regional paths divergeLagos — The Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy findings reveal a year in which energy demand continues to surge, low-carbon electricity reaches a historic milestone and transition pathways diverge sharply across regions – all against a backdrop of rising geopolitical risks.
The Energy Institute, in partnership with Ember and in collaboration with Kearney and KPMG, has today released the 75th edition of the Statistical Review of World Energy, offering the first complete look at global energy data for 2025.
Key findings:
- Record energy demand – total energy supply (
TES) rose 1.7%, with all major energy sources rising to all-time highs for the second consecutive year. - Low-carbon breakthrough –
renewables were the largest source of TES growth for the first time outside of a recession, with solar power accounting for 72% of this increase. - US emissions rise faster than China – US emissions grew 3.2%
, driven by a 13% surge in coal-fired power – in absolute terms, four times the growth of China. - Solar and storage surge – solar generation expanded by 30% worldwide, while battery capacity grew at 66%, reinforcing their role as the fastest‑scaling clean technologies.
- Energy security pressures intensify – a 4.8% growth in oil production in the Americas, which has helped lessen the impacts of the current Middle East conflict.
A year of record demand and widening divergence
Global energy demand rose 1.7%, with efficiency gains (relative to GDP growth) remaining at 2%, far short of the 4% annual improvement targeted at COP28.
Global emissions rose 1.1%, though regional trends diverged sharply. China’s emissions grew only 0.3%, while India’s rose 0.9%, both below the global average. By contrast, the US recorded a 3.2% increase, the largest among major economies.
Electrification accelerates as low-carbon power reaches a turning point
Electricity is growing in prominence in the energy system, with electricity demand continuing to grow faster than TES, rising 3% year-on-year.
In 2025, rising electricity demand was met entirely by low-carbon sources, with renewables and hydro overtaking coal as the largest source of generation. Fossil generation fell overall, resulting in fossil fuels being substituted rather than supplemented.
Global electricity consumption rose 3%, with China recording the fastest growth of any major economy at over 5%, adding electricity demand equivalent to the entire consumption of Germany in a single year.
US electricity demand grew 3%, broadly in line with the global average – in a data first for the Statistical Review, global
Regional patterns reveal a fragmented transition
- China delivered another record year for wind and solar – more than the rest of the world combined – with coal generation declining.
- India saw coal, oil and gas generation all fall, while renewable generation
increased nearly 24%. - Europe saw renewables grow 7%, largely offset by weaker hydro; wind generation fell slightly. UK solar was a standout, rising 37%.
- The US saw solar surge 28%, but wind just 3%, while coal generation rose 13%, driving the country’s emissions increase.
- In a continuing rebalancing of global oil production, the Americas now produce 20% more oil than the Middle East, with a 4% increase in US oil and gas production in 2025 – a flip from two decades ago when the Middle East produced 20% more.
Energy Institute President Andy Brown OBE FEI commented: “In this, the 75th edition of the Statistical Review of World Energy, energy remains at the forefront of the world’s political and economic agenda, shaped by changing priorities on energy security, affordability and sustainability. To satisfy the continued insatiable growth in energy demand, we again see growth in all sources of total energy supply. This rigorous dataset is the cornerstone of understanding how these shifting priorities are shaping our global energy landscape.”
Dr Nick Wayth FEI, Chief Executive of the Energy Institute, commented:“This year’s Review shows an energy system at a tipping point: record demand, a historic breakthrough in low-carbon electricity, and sharply diverging regional pathways. We see encouraging substitution of fossil fuels in power, yet global emissions continue to rise and energy security pressures intensify. These findings underline the urgency of accelerating efficiency, electrification
Aditya Lolla, Interim Managing Director – Ember, commented: “The geopolitical fault lines of global energy markets are once again exposed. Even before the second major fossil shock in four years, the data show that global energy supply growth is increasingly renewable and electric, driven by the hard economics of efficiency and security more than by mandate. Trusted, impartial data has never been more critical, and this Review will help equip decision-makers worldwide with exactly that.”
Wafa Jafri, Partner and UK Lead for Energy and Natural Resources Strategy, KPMG in the UK, highlighted: “The centre of gravity of global oil supply has structurally shifted. The Americas now produce 20% more oil than the Middle East, a shift that would have been unthinkable at the start of the century; trade flows are being redrawn in real time, and the geography and geopolitics of energy supply is changing rapidly with businesses left to adapt their global strategies into regional responses. The global energy system is no longer moving in one direction, with regions reacting to the same crisis with different responses for building resilience. That divergence is now the defining feature of the global energy market.”
Maria de Kleijn – Europe Lead, Sustainability and Partner – Kearney, commented: “The latest Statistical Review confirms that renewable energy is no longer a niche contributor to the global energy mix. Solar and renewables are scaling at unprecedented rates, but deployment alone is not enough. The next phase of the transition will be defined by system-wide execution, ensuring grids, storage, and flexibility solutions keep pace so clean energy growth translates into economic and societal transformation.”
The Energy Institute
