An analysis on power sector decarbonisation among G20 countries reveals renewables have reduced the share of coal power in these countries since the Paris Agreement, according to Ember.
The think tank’s data reveals that in G20 countries, wind and solar reached a combined share of 13% of electricity in 2022, up from 5% in 2015.
In this period, the share of wind power doubled and the share of solar power quadrupled.
As a result, coal power fell from 43% of G20 electricity in 2015 to 39% in 2022.
Shares of other sources of electricity remained broadly stable, with fluctuations of just 1-2 percentage points.
Across the G20, progress towards wind and solar power is mixed.
The leaders are Germany (32%), the UK (29%) and Australia (25%). Turkey, Brazil, the US and China have consistently held above the global average.
At the bottom are Russia, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia with nearly zero wind and solar power in their mix.
Thirteen of the G20 still have over half of their electricity from fossil fuels as of 2022.
Saudi Arabia stands out with almost 100% of its electricity from oil and gas.
South Africa (86%), Indonesia (82%) and India (77%) are the next most reliant on fossil – all predominantly coal – generation.
Among advanced (OECD) economies in the G20, which should target coal phase-out by 2030, there has been a reduction in coal generation by 42% in absolute terms from 2015 to 2022.
The fastest decline in coal power in the G20 has been achieved by the UK, which reduced its coal generation by 93% since the Paris Agreement was signed, falling from 23% of electricity in 2015 to just 2% in 2022.
Italy halved its coal power in the same period, while the United States and Germany reduced their coal power by around a third.
The growth in wind and solar generation has been a key factor in the success of these OECD countries in reducing coal power.
The UK and Germany stand out with the highest shares of wind power at 25% and 22% in 2022.