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41% of global electricity is generated from Low Carbon

40.75 % Share of global electricity

Low-carbon energy refers to energy sources that produce minimal levels of carbon dioxide emissions when generating electricity. Prominent examples of low-carbon energy sources include wind, nuclear, and solar power. These forms of energy are crucial in the global quest to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, combat climate change, and ensure a sustainable future.

The process of generating electricity through low-carbon sources involves various technologies. Wind energy harnesses the kinetic energy of the wind to turn turbines, which then convert this mechanical energy into electricity. On the other hand, solar energy employs photovoltaic cells that capture sunlight and directly convert it to electrical energy. Nuclear power relies on nuclear fission reactions in reactors, where the splitting of atoms releases a tremendous amount of heat, which is then used to generate steam that drives turbines to produce electricity.

One significant advantage of low-carbon energy is its remarkably low carbon intensity. Wind has a carbon intensity of 11 gCO2eq/kWh, nuclear power emits just 12 gCO2eq/kWh, and solar energy averages around 45 gCO2eq/kWh. When compared to fossil fuel-based sources like coal (820 gCO2eq/kWh) and natural gas (490 gCO2eq/kWh), the emissions from low-carbon sources are negligible. This stark contrast underscores the critical role of low-carbon technologies in mitigating climate change and reducing air pollution.

Low-carbon energy sources currently generate 40.75% of all electricity consumed globally, reflecting their significant contribution to the world's electricity needs. This demonstrates a growing global commitment to embracing sustainable energy sources and reducing dependency on high-emission fossil fuels. Particularly in nations like Iceland, where 100% of electricity is generated from low-carbon sources, it is clear that such technologies can provide reliable and clean power on a large scale.

In specific examples, countries like Norway (99%), Sweden (96%), and Finland (88%) extensively rely on low-carbon energy for their electricity supply. Canada also demonstrates a commendable commitment, with low-carbon energy making up 81% of its electricity generation. These countries serve as exemplary models in showcasing how robust investments in low-carbon technologies can yield substantial environmental and economic benefits.

The widespread adoption of low-carbon energy has numerous advantages. It promotes energy security by diversifying the energy mix and reduces dependence on imported fossil fuels. Additionally, it helps in creating green jobs, stimulates technological innovation, and fosters sustainable development. By focusing on expanding the reach of wind, nuclear, and solar power, countries worldwide can ensure a greener, more resilient, and environmentally friendly energy future.

Country/Region Watts / person % TWh
Iceland 49874.5 W 100.0% 19.3 TWh
Norway 27556.6 W 98.9% 152.1 TWh
Sweden 14715.3 W 95.9% 155.3 TWh
Finland 12797.8 W 87.6% 71.7 TWh
Canada 12202.3 W 80.7% 479.5 TWh
Bhutan 11524.9 W 91.6% 9.0 TWh
Greenland 7676.7 W 76.8% 0.4 TWh
France 7529.6 W 96.1% 500.3 TWh
New Zealand 7228.4 W 83.5% 37.4 TWh
Austria 6851.0 W 92.4% 62.6 TWh
Paraguay 6509.9 W 100.0% 44.0 TWh
Switzerland 5924.5 W 100.0% 52.6 TWh
United States 5253.1 W 41.0% 1804.3 TWh
Slovenia 5232.7 W 76.6% 11.1 TWh
Belgium 5030.8 W 68.7% 58.9 TWh
Slovakia 4826.9 W 87.5% 26.6 TWh
Denmark 4767.8 W 83.4% 28.4 TWh
South Korea 4542.6 W 41.0% 235.1 TWh
Spain 4528.0 W 83.3% 216.9 TWh
Portugal 4476.6 W 76.9% 46.7 TWh
Laos 4437.1 W 73.0% 33.5 TWh
United Arab Emirates 4331.9 W 27.9% 46.1 TWh
EU 4214.2 W 73.4% 1899.2 TWh
Czechia 3967.8 W 60.7% 42.9 TWh
Uruguay 3910.8 W 99.3% 13.3 TWh
Australia 3693.6 W 37.3% 97.7 TWh
Bulgaria 3681.2 W 66.7% 25.0 TWh
Netherlands 3611.4 W 55.3% 65.3 TWh
Germany 3545.1 W 63.2% 299.7 TWh
Chile 3154.5 W 69.1% 62.0 TWh
Brazil 3122.3 W 91.5% 659.3 TWh
Georgia 3099.2 W 80.4% 11.8 TWh
Russia 2965.5 W 37.1% 431.3 TWh
Faroe Islands 2960.8 W 38.1% 0.2 TWh
Ireland 2862.6 W 43.1% 14.9 TWh
Montenegro 2740.6 W 44.6% 1.7 TWh
Croatia 2679.7 W 56.2% 10.4 TWh
United Kingdom 2597.2 W 60.5% 178.4 TWh
Japan 2549.3 W 32.8% 317.1 TWh
People's Republic of China 2515.6 W 37.9% 3578.6 TWh
Albania 2475.6 W 88.4% 7.0 TWh
Greece 2472.3 W 51.6% 25.3 TWh
Lithuania 2461.3 W 49.8% 7.0 TWh
French Guiana 2388.9 W 69.3% 0.7 TWh
Latvia 2383.2 W 64.6% 4.5 TWh
Panama 2374.6 W 78.2% 10.4 TWh
Venezuela 2331.5 W 77.7% 65.8 TWh
Hungary 2293.4 W 49.8% 22.2 TWh
Republic of China (Taiwan) 2143.1 W 17.5% 50.0 TWh
Costa Rica 2142.8 W 86.6% 10.9 TWh
Ukraine 1966.0 W 71.0% 80.7 TWh
Italy 1961.3 W 40.6% 116.7 TWh
Tajikistan 1832.6 W 89.4% 18.7 TWh
Romania 1828.3 W 64.2% 35.0 TWh
Luxembourg 1803.3 W 25.1% 1.2 TWh
Estonia 1772.0 W 30.4% 2.4 TWh
Turkey 1739.7 W 46.5% 151.8 TWh
Armenia 1721.7 W 56.6% 5.0 TWh
Serbia 1714.1 W 36.3% 11.6 TWh
Kyrgyzstan 1710.8 W 73.5% 11.9 TWh
Argentina 1628.4 W 51.4% 74.2 TWh
Suriname 1620.7 W 48.3% 1.0 TWh
New Caledonia 1602.1 W 16.8% 0.5 TWh
The World 1469.1 W 40.7% 11887.6 TWh
Bosnia & Herzegovina 1439.5 W 37.3% 4.6 TWh
Ecuador 1437.7 W 70.5% 25.9 TWh
Guadeloupe 1403.0 W 33.7% 0.6 TWh
Curaçao 1393.2 W 29.2% 0.3 TWh
Aruba 1391.6 W 15.3% 0.1 TWh
Cook Islands 1356.2 W 50.0% 0.0 TWh
Vietnam 1260.7 W 42.7% 126.5 TWh
Poland 1211.7 W 29.2% 47.0 TWh
Martinique 1103.9 W 25.8% 0.4 TWh
Colombia 1084.8 W 61.3% 56.8 TWh
Malaysia 1024.3 W 19.2% 36.0 TWh
Peru 1022.6 W 58.4% 34.6 TWh
Réunion 1002.2 W 28.2% 0.9 TWh
Cyprus 872.5 W 22.0% 1.2 TWh
Zambia 858.9 W 88.9% 17.3 TWh
El Salvador 830.5 W 66.2% 5.2 TWh
Israel 829.4 W 9.9% 7.5 TWh
French Polynesia 820.3 W 32.9% 0.2 TWh
Kazakhstan 785.5 W 13.8% 16.0 TWh
Honduras 723.4 W 61.9% 7.6 TWh
Seychelles 716.9 W 14.5% 0.1 TWh
Fiji 674.3 W 59.6% 0.6 TWh
Belarus 653.0 W 15.5% 6.0 TWh
Belize 620.7 W 42.4% 0.3 TWh
South Africa 617.6 W 17.1% 39.0 TWh
Dominica 598.4 W 23.5% 0.0 TWh
North Macedonia 597.3 W 19.1% 1.1 TWh
Mexico 563.0 W 20.9% 73.0 TWh
Malta 560.3 W 14.1% 0.3 TWh
Guam 544.8 W 5.1% 0.1 TWh
Mauritius 532.9 W 19.4% 0.7 TWh
Guatemala 497.5 W 67.3% 8.9 TWh
North Korea 489.6 W 57.9% 12.9 TWh
Mozambique 479.8 W 82.4% 15.7 TWh
Namibia 449.9 W 34.2% 1.3 TWh
Jordan 444.2 W 22.6% 5.0 TWh
Eswatini 443.0 W 36.2% 0.5 TWh
Nicaragua 438.3 W 55.7% 3.0 TWh
Gabon 411.4 W 34.2% 1.0 TWh
Thailand 409.6 W 12.7% 29.4 TWh
St. Vincent & Grenadines 391.9 W 23.5% 0.0 TWh
Zimbabwe 374.0 W 56.2% 6.0 TWh
Sri Lanka 370.7 W 50.4% 8.5 TWh
Angola 356.7 W 75.0% 12.7 TWh
Nepal 330.5 W 88.7% 9.8 TWh
Bolivia 313.6 W 32.8% 3.8 TWh
India 309.7 W 23.4% 445.3 TWh
Macao SAR China 283.9 W 3.5% 0.2 TWh
Barbados 283.4 W 7.3% 0.1 TWh
Samoa 278.7 W 31.6% 0.1 TWh
Pakistan 276.4 W 54.0% 68.4 TWh
Dominican Republic 272.5 W 14.2% 3.1 TWh
Equatorial Guinea 266.1 W 32.7% 0.5 TWh
Cambodia 259.9 W 36.1% 4.5 TWh
Morocco 246.1 W 20.8% 9.3 TWh
Iran 234.4 W 5.4% 21.2 TWh
Indonesia 231.9 W 18.5% 65.2 TWh
U.S. Virgin Islands 231.2 W 2.9% 0.0 TWh
Ghana 230.8 W 34.0% 7.7 TWh
Sudan 225.8 W 59.3% 11.2 TWh
Mongolia 224.4 W 9.0% 0.8 TWh
Philippines 221.6 W 21.6% 25.5 TWh
Lesotho 218.7 W 53.8% 0.5 TWh
Jamaica 218.4 W 13.5% 0.6 TWh
Egypt 216.5 W 11.3% 24.8 TWh
Antigua & Barbuda 215.4 W 5.6% 0.0 TWh
St. Kitts & Nevis 214.0 W 4.5% 0.0 TWh
Kenya 208.4 W 84.5% 11.5 TWh
American Samoa 206.8 W 5.6% 0.0 TWh
Singapore 193.5 W 1.9% 1.1 TWh
Cameroon 183.1 W 62.3% 5.1 TWh
Myanmar (Burma) 182.3 W 54.4% 9.9 TWh
Azerbaijan 178.7 W 6.4% 1.8 TWh
Saudi Arabia 173.5 W 1.4% 5.8 TWh
Lebanon 165.4 W 9.0% 0.9 TWh
Congo - Brazzaville 149.1 W 22.5% 0.9 TWh
Guinea 143.7 W 66.4% 2.0 TWh
Uzbekistan 142.5 W 6.4% 5.0 TWh
Cape Verde 134.7 W 16.3% 0.1 TWh
Ethiopia 122.9 W 99.9% 15.4 TWh
Papua New Guinea 118.6 W 25.1% 1.2 TWh
Maldives 114.5 W 7.1% 0.1 TWh
Côte d’Ivoire 113.5 W 31.0% 3.5 TWh
Senegal 113.3 W 24.7% 2.0 TWh
Uganda 112.7 W 98.9% 5.3 TWh
Congo - Kinshasa 107.8 W 88.7% 11.0 TWh
Moldova 107.6 W 6.1% 0.3 TWh
Mauritania 104.6 W 27.0% 0.5 TWh
Liberia 98.6 W 67.1% 0.5 TWh
Puerto Rico 95.6 W 1.9% 0.3 TWh
Tonga 95.2 W 12.5% 0.0 TWh
Grenada 85.5 W 4.0% 0.0 TWh
Cuba 76.9 W 4.7% 0.8 TWh
Mali 64.6 W 37.9% 1.5 TWh
Malawi 61.7 W 94.1% 1.3 TWh
Iraq 61.5 W 2.3% 2.7 TWh
Tunisia 54.9 W 2.8% 0.7 TWh
Tanzania 45.4 W 32.1% 2.9 TWh
São Tomé & Príncipe 44.2 W 7.1% 0.0 TWh
Palestinian Territories 39.6 W 2.8% 0.2 TWh
Rwanda 38.8 W 53.0% 0.5 TWh
Nigeria 35.2 W 24.8% 8.0 TWh
Syria 34.7 W 4.6% 0.8 TWh
Vanuatu 31.9 W 14.3% 0.0 TWh
Hong Kong SAR China 30.8 W 0.5% 0.2 TWh
Central African Republic 29.4 W 100.0% 0.1 TWh
Madagascar 28.6 W 36.9% 0.9 TWh
Guyana 24.3 W 1.8% 0.0 TWh
Togo 24.2 W 13.1% 0.2 TWh
Sierra Leone 23.0 W 95.0% 0.2 TWh
Burundi 18.0 W 52.2% 0.2 TWh
Afghanistan 17.3 W 10.4% 0.7 TWh
Yemen 15.7 W 20.3% 0.6 TWh
Algeria 15.0 W 0.8% 0.7 TWh
Haiti 12.2 W 13.5% 0.1 TWh
Burkina Faso 10.7 W 10.3% 0.2 TWh
Bangladesh 9.6 W 1.6% 1.6 TWh
Bahrain 6.5 W 0.0% 0.0 TWh
Trinidad & Tobago 4.2 W 0.1% 0.0 TWh
Botswana 4.1 W 0.2% 0.0 TWh
Eritrea 2.9 W 2.6% 0.0 TWh
Somalia 2.2 W 10.5% 0.0 TWh
Niger 2.0 W 2.6% 0.1 TWh
South Sudan 1.8 W 3.2% 0.0 TWh
Benin 1.5 W 1.1% 0.0 TWh
Turkmenistan 1.4 W 0.0% 0.0 TWh
Libya 1.4 W 0.0% 0.0 TWh
Chad 1.1 W 5.7% 0.0 TWh
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