From Watts Up With That?

Guest essay by Larry Hamlin

The government leaders of the U.S., EU and UK can’t seem to bring themselves to acknowledge that global energy outcomes regarding the world’s future energy growth, fuel use as well as emissions growth is out of their control and has been for years.

The comprehensive year 2022 BP world energy statistical review report data shows that China’s energy use alone in year 2021 exceeds the energy use of the U.S., EU and UK combined and represents 26.49% of all global energy use which is by far the largest of any global nation. 

China has achieved this level of energy consumption by hugely increasing its use of coal fuel from 2005 to 2021 by over 30 exajoules with that increase alone in year 2021 energy use being 12.6% greater than the entire world’s energy provided by wind and solar in 2021. China’s growth in coal energy is larger than their increased use of both petroleum and natural gas combined during this same period.

Additionally, the non-OECD (which includes China) nations growth in yearly coal energy use between 2005 and 2021 increased by 48.32 exajoules with this increased 2021 coal energy being 77% larger than the entire world’s energy provided by wind and solar in that year.

China’s coal fuel use alone in 2021 is more than 9.3 times greater than its use of wind and solar in that year with its total fossil fuel use being more than 14 times larger than its wind and solar energy.

Biden’s Secretary of Energy seems to be completely oblivious to China’s and the non-OECD nations colossal energy use and emissions that are largely driven by its globally dominate and huge use of coal fuel as described here.             

The tables and data provided below reflect year 2021 world energy statistical analysis data from the BP year 2022 Report. 

Table 1 below provides data listed in rank order of world region largest percent of total global energy use with the percent of each world regions energy use obtained from both wind and solar as listed in the BP Statistical Analysis Report of 2022. 

Wind and solar are the energy resources most associated with alleged zero CO2 emissions but with significant toxic material waste disposal problems that are ignored by advocates as, for example, described here. Wind and solar represent about 70% of total global renewable energy use with biomass being most of the remainder.

Additionally, wind and solar resources require the use of massive emissions producing quantities of materials and increased mining as well as significant manufacturing emissions because of their very low energy density compared to fossil fuels resources.

California is included in these tables because, incredibly, the state’s politicians foolishly operate under the delusion that the state plays some grand role in “fighting global climate change” which is a complete farce as indicated by the numbers in this and other tables in this essay. 

California’s total energy use data is obtained for year 2020 (the latest year available) from the EIA data source here.

Wind and Solar energy are alleged as zero emissions energy resources that will save mankind from the climate alarmists ridiculous and science unsupported claim of a “climate emergency”.

Wind and solar provided only 4.58% of total global energy use in year 2021 after decades of global government mandated use of these costly and unreliable energy resources including the use of trillions of dollars in huge global government driven subsidies. Germany alone has spent at least $800 billion euros  on its failed green energy transition campaign. 

The dominant global energy use non-OECD nations (representing 61.37% of total year 2021 global energy use) utilized less wind and solar energy (only 13.14 exajoules) compared to the OECD nations (representing only 38.63% of total year 2021 global total energy) with wind and solar use at just 14.13 exajoules.

The above highlighted huge disparity in non-OECD and OECD percent of total global energy will be addressed again later in this essay because it is a crucial global energy outcome that is concealed and ignored by renewable energy advocates and climate alarmists. 

These advocates and alarmists don’t want the public to be aware of the futility and incompetence of OECD absurd energy policy schemes trying to decrease use of global fossil fuel energy while advocating increased use of unreliable and costly renewable energy, especially wind and solar.  

In 2021 non-OECD nations used 60% more total energy than the OECD nations but used less wind and solar than OECD. This outcome shows that non-OECD nations clearly lack government mandates and priorities for wind and solar energy.

The BP energy use data also shows that between 2005 and 2021 the OECD nations energy use of nuclear and hydro declined by 17% while use of these resources increased by over 72% for the non-OECD nations during this period with these nations using 13.5% more nuclear and hydro energy than the OECD nations in 2021.

OECD nations environmentalists and anti-nuclear activists appear to have been successful in curtailing growth of nuclear and hydro is these nations.        

Reliable and cost-effective fossil fuel energy resources including coal, petroleum and natural gas continued (thank goodness) to provide the great majority of world (82.28% in year 2021) and all world regional energy use requirements as presented in the Table 2 below based on the BP year 2021 world energy use statistical analysis.

Note the non-OECD nations globally dominate 85.34% fossil fuel use to achieve their year 2021 energy needs. Even globally insignificant and climate alarmist renewable energy mandate focused California used fossil fuels for 70% of its total energy use in year 2020.

Fossil fuels in year 2021 provided the world with 18 times greater energy than did wind and solar (489.66 exajoules versus 27.27 exajoules) after decades of OECD global government mandates requiring use of costly and unreliable wind and solar even with trillions in global government driven subsidies and mandates.

BP data shows the U.S. decreased its fossil fuel use between 2005 and 2021 by about 11% and most significantly decreased the use of coal fuel by 54%. These significant achievements which are discussed further below are largely ignored and concealed by Democrats in Congress that have consistently supported Biden’s incompetent efforts to decrease natural gas production and use. 

In September 2020 the EIA released a report showing that the U.S. replaced coal fuel with higher efficiency, lower cost and lower emissions natural gas fuel with this change contributing the great majority (61.2%) of a cumulative 5.475 billion metric tons of reductions in CO2 emissions between 2005 and 2019.

Table 3 below presents data on World, Selected World Regions, Country, and California showing total energy use for the years 2005 and 2021 with the energy use growth percent from 2005 to 2021 also provided. 

The OECD nations (which accounted for only 38.63% of total global energy use in 2021) led by the U.S. and EU experienced energy use declines between the period 2005 and 2021with these nations shrinking energy use by -4.3% during this period (as shown in Table 3).

The globally dominant energy use non-OECD nations (which accounted for 61.37% of total global energy use in 2021) increased their energy use by +66.7% during this same time period.    

This BP energy data establishes that the non-OECD nations are by far the world’s largest and fastest growing energy users with these nations now completely dominating total global energy, growth, and fuel use both present and future outcomes. 

The non-OECD nations increased fossil fuel use by 113.94 exajoules (311.73 exajoules in 2021 versus 197.79 exajoules in 2005) in the period from 2005 to 2021 with this increased use of fossil fuels being 435% times larger than the entire world’s increased use of wind and solar (27.27 exajoules in 2021 versus 1.08 exajoules in 2005) during year 2021. 

The 2005 to 2021 periods large increase in global fossil fuel use overwhelming dominates global energy use growth despite renewable energy advocate tactics of hyping large percent increase comparisons for wind and solar energy growth based on these resources changes from their tiny initial starting values.

The non-OECD nations are continuing to grow their already dominate energy use requirements and are fully committed to significant further increased use of coal, as well as increased use of natural gas and petroleum that achieved growth of over 65% between 2005 and 2021. 

These nations will continue to increase their future dominance over the OECD nations in global energy growth as well as for increased growth globally of fossil fuels which will inexorably grow in much larger absolute proportions than solar and wind.

The OECD nations cannot stop this from happening and despite their nefarious efforts otherwise cannot conceal this global energy growth and fuel use (as well as emissions growth) reality.

The incompetence of the OECD global nations costly and unreliable zero emissions hyped government schemes needs to be acknowledged and curtailed.

As demonstrated by decades of failed efforts the OECD nations cannot control future global energy, growth, and fuel use (or emissions) energy outcomes as the BP year 2021 comprehensive global energy statistical analysis data clearly displays.