Ember’s annual Global Electricity Review aims to provide the most transparent and up-to-date overview of changes in the global electricity transition in 2021. Ember makes all of the data freely accessible to allow others to do their own analysis and help speed the switch to clean electricity.

Key findings:

• Wind and solar hit a tenth of global electricity, but the global electricity transition needs to sustain very high growth rates to replace coal and reduce emissions
• Solar generation rose 23% last year, and wind by 14%. Combined, this takes them to more than 10% of global electricity generation. All clean electricity sources generated 38% of the world’s electricity in 2021, more than coal (36%).
• To be on a pathway that keeps global heating to 1.5 degrees, wind and solar need to sustain high compound growth rates of 20% every year to 2030. That’s the same rate of growth as their average over the last decade.