The energy sector refers to the collection of industries and activities involved in production, storage, distribution, and consumption of energy resources that power human activities.
It is at the heart of what makes the modern world possible - powering economies and societies, including electricity generation, heating/cooling, transportation, and industrial processes.
The sector produces this energy from various sources.
The most traditional of these are fossil sources like coal, oil & natural gas.
And more recently (at scale) from nuclear and renewable sources such as wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal power, among others.
Because of the sector's extreme high reliance on the traditional fossil sources (and hence greenhouse gas emissions), it finds itself at the heart of global efforts to address climate change.
There is tremendous pressure on the sector to transition to cleaner, more sustainable non-fossil sources.
The Global Energy Supply (or Total Energy Supply, TES) refers to the total amount of energy available worldwide for use over a specific period, usually measured annually.
It includes all energy sources such as fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas), nuclear energy, and renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro, biomass, etc.).
It's a key metric used in energy policy, planning, and analysis to understand how much energy is available for consumption across sectors like transportation, industry, and residential use.
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In 2021, the Total Energy Supply was 617,791,617 TJ.80% of this was sourced from Fossil – coal, oil, and natural gases, while the remaining came from Non-Fossil sources (nuclear, hydro, wind, solar and biofuels/waste) combined.
With the rise in population and growth in various aspects of economic activity - our energy demand has grown too !!
We have met this new demand by increasing our energy in supply by 69% (251,282,712 TJ) from 1990 to 2021.
Almost 79% of this has come from fossil sources (198,159,201 TJ) and remaining 21% from non-fossil sources (53,123,511 TJ).
An interesting thing to note here is that nature of the energy sector has remained same through this increasing in supply – with fairly consistent % share of energy from fossil sources between 80%-83%, since 1990.
74% !!!
Yes, 74% of Global Greenhouse gas emission comes from our Energy Sector alone.
It is the single largest sector and unmistakably adds tons of new greenhouse gas by the hour into our atmosphere, drives up the greenhouse gas effect leading to global warming and climate change.
In 2021, the Energy Sector added a total of 33,572 metric tonnes of CO2 into our atmosphere.
To solve for the energy sector from a climate lens, we will have to go beyond its "total emission footprint" - particularly since there is no wishing away the sector. It is an "essential".
To do this, we will have to dive one level deeper into its emission footprint by source and end-uses.
It helps us identify/prioritize sources that need intervening with and the energy-dependent sectors that need to fine-tune for energy efficiency and new energy sources.
Understanding sources/end-uses, is a crucial first step to formulate actionable measures to reducing emissions from the sector in line with our global climate goals.
It empowers,
- informed policy and regulation
- guide investment decisions
- optimize energy efficiency by sector
- guide technological innovation
It also helps to,
- educate and engage the public
- track progress
- support climate action plans
Greenhouse gas emission from the energy sector is primarily because of its "almost-wholesome" reliance on fossil fuels for production.
Energy produced from fossil fuels account for more than 99% of the total emissions of the energy sector, globally.
In 2021, energy from coal was responsible for 45% of all greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector, followed by oil at 32% and natural gas at 22%.
By end-use it is the 'production of electricity' and 'heat producers' that are responsible for the largest shares of emissions from within the energy sector.
In 1990 combined, they accounted for 37% of energy sector's emission by end-use and have since grown to 44% in 2021.
In 2021, the other major end-use sectors include Industry at 24%, Transport at 23% and Buildings at 8%.
Agriculture, Fishing, and other minor use-cases made up remaining 2%.
In 2021, the Total Energy Supply in India was 39,529,092 TJ.74% of this was sourced from Fossil – coal, oil, and natural gases, while the remaining came from Non-Fossil Sources (nuclear, hydro, wind, solar and biofuels/waste) combined.
As the country has progressed over the years so has its energy demand.
We have met this new demand by increasing our energy in supply by 237% (27,801,575 TJ) from 1990 to 2021.
Almost 81% of this has come from fossil sources (22,415,919 TJ) and remaining 19% from non-fossil sources (5,385,656 TJ).
Energy produced from fossil fuels accounts for more than 99% of the total emissions of the energy sector in India.
In 2021, energy from coal was responsible for 71% of all greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector, followed by oil at 25% and natural gas at 4%.
By end-use it is the 'production of electricity' and 'heat producers' that are responsible for the largest shares of emissions from within the energy sector.
In 1990 combined, they accounted for 41% of energy sector's emission by end-use and have since grown to 51% in 2021.
In 2021, the other major end-use sectors include Industry at 27%, Transport at 13% and Buildings at 6%.
Agriculture, Fishing, and other minor use-cases made up remaining 3%.
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