Manya Rathore
Research expert covering India
Global fossil fuel dependency - statistics & facts
Fossil fuels account for more than 80 percent of all primary energy consumed worldwide. Although shares have fallen since the more widespread adoption of variable renewable energy, today’s world continues to be heavily reliant on crude oil, natural gas, and coal. Industries that require high heat or vast amounts of energy are some of the most dependent on fossil fuels, with coal and natural gas of particular importance. Meanwhile, crude oil continues to play a dominant role in the transportation sector. Prosperous countries with significant raw material resources are among those with the largest share of fossil fuel consumption per capita.
Fossil fuels remain an integral part in many industries and sectors, and in some cases provide irreplaceable properties. As is showcased by the demand increase in sectors like chemical manufacturing and transportation, the need for fossil fuels has grown alongside a larger appetite for energy despite the introduction of alternative resources.
Coal power producers among countries with highest fossil fuel consumption
Coal used to be the most widely used source for electricity and heat production. To this day, it continues to be a comparatively inexpensive means of producing energy and is thus often favored by countries with growing electricity demand. In 2023, coal’s share in worldwide power generation was 35 percent. It is an especially prominent fuel source in the BRICS countries. For example, in South Africa, coal's share of the power mix was more than 80 percent of the power mix and nearly 70 percent of total primary energy consumption. This is more than in any other major economy.Fossil fuel use still heavily embedded across industries
Electrification is one of the easiest ways of reducing fossil fuel reliance across industries. In the automotive industry, this has led to billions of liters of oil being displaced worldwide due to electric vehicles. However, other sectors have yet to see an economically viable introduction of non-fossil fuel sources. In steel and iron manufacturing, the requisite high temperatures are largely achieved from coal and natural gas. Many prominent chemicals are petrochemicals that require natural gas or crude oil as raw materials. Even disregarding the need for feedstocks, process energy demand in the chemical industry has increased by more than one-fourth in the last decade alone, of which fossil fuels were the dominant source.Fossil fuels remain an integral part in many industries and sectors, and in some cases provide irreplaceable properties. As is showcased by the demand increase in sectors like chemical manufacturing and transportation, the need for fossil fuels has grown alongside a larger appetite for energy despite the introduction of alternative resources.
