World Energy Consumption

World Energy Consumption

World Energy Consumption refers to the total energy used by all of human civilization.

Typically measured per-year, it involves all energy harnessed from every energy source we use, applied towards humanity's endeavors across every industrial and technological sector, across every country. Being the power source metric of civilization, World Energy Consumption has deep implications for humanity's social-economic-political sphere.

Institutions such as the International Energy Agency (IEA), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and the European Environment Agency record and publish energy data periodically. Improved data and understanding of World Energy Consumption may reveal systemic trends and patterns, which could help frame current energy issues and encourage movement towards collectively useful solutions.

According to IEA (2012) the climate goal of limiting warming to 2 °C is becoming more difficult and costly with each year that passes. If action is not taken before 2017, all the allowable CO2 emissions would be locked-in by energy infrastructure existing in 2017. Fossil fuels are dominant in the global energy mix, supported by $523 billion subsidies in 2011, up almost 30% on 2010 and six times more than subsidies to renewables.

Fossil energy use increased most in 2000-2008. In October 2012 the IEA noted that coal accounted for half the increased energy use of the prior decade, growing faster than all renewable energy sources. Since Chernobyl disaster in 1986 investments in nuclear power have been small.

1PWh=1000TWh