India was the second-largest driver of primary energy consumption in the world, behind China, in 2019, even though demand for oil and coal declined, according to the BP Statistical Review released on Wednesday.
Global growth in primary energy consumption accelerated to 1.3 per cent last year, less than half the growth rate in 2018 (2.8 per cent), BP said.
The growth in energy demand was powered by renewables and natural gas, which together contributed three quarters to the expansion. All fuels grew at a slower rate than their 10-year average, apart from nuclear fuels.
“By country, China was by far the biggest driver of energy, accounting for more than three quarters of net global growth. India and Indonesia were the next largest contributors to growth, while the US and Germany posted the largest declines,” it said.
But growth in 2019 was slower than in 2018.
World primary energy consumption increased to 583.90 Exajoules (EJ). India's consumption increased to 34.06 EJ by 2.3%. Growth was lower than 5.2% in 2018.
In absolute terms, India's energy consumption was just below that of China (141,70 EJ) and the US (94,65 EJ).
“Growth in energy markets slowed in 2019 in line with weaker economic growth and a partial unwinding of some of the one-off factors that boosted energy demand in 2018. This slowdown was particularly evident in the US, Russia and India, each of which exhibited unusually strong growth in 2018,” it said.
Energy consumption consists of oil , natural gas, coal, electricity and renewables.
Global oil consumption increased by 0.9 million barrels per day ( bpd), or 0.9 per cent, slightly below the 10-year average of 1.3 per cent per year.
India posted the world's third-largest increase in oil consumption at 159,000 bpd, just behind China's 681,000 bpd and Iran's 183,000 bpd.
World coal consumption decreased by 0.6%. "India 's growth, usually a key driver of coal consumption, was only 0.3 per cent (0.1 EJ) – its lowest since 2001," BP said.
Hydroelectric consumption rose by 0.8 per cent, below its 10-year average of 1.9 per cent per annum. “Growth was led by China (0.6 EJ), Turkey (0.3 EJ) and India (0.2 EJ). The US and Vietnam saw the biggest declines (both -0.2 EJ),” it said.
Releasing the 69th annual edition of the BP Statistical Overview of World Energy, BP said this year's version, which collects and analyzes energy data for 2019, highlights global energy patterns emerging prior to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“While some aspects such as the continuing strong growth in renewables offer encouragement that the world is moving onto a more sustainable path, others including continuing persistent growth in carbon emissions ? underline the scale of the challenge for the world to reach net zero,” it said.
Bernard Looney, CEO of BP, said: "Net zero can be reached by 2050. There are zero-carbon energies and innovations in operation today. The challenge is to use them at speed and scale, and I remain optimistic that we can make this happen.
Carbon emissions from energy use increased by 0.5 per cent in 2019, only partially offset by the unusually strong growth of 2.1 per cent seen in 2018. The average annual increase in carbon emissions in 2018 and 2019 was higher than its 10-year average.
Renewables contributed their biggest rise in terms of energy output (3.2 EJ). They accounted for more than 40% of last year's global growth in primary energy, more than any other fuel. Their share of power generation (10.4%) also exceeded nuclear power for the first time.
Natural gas consumption rose by 2%, well below the exceptional growth seen in 2018, but still has a record high share of primary energy (24.2%).
Oil consumption increased by 0.9 million bpd or 0.9 per cent below average, while demand for all liquid fuels, including biofuels, increased for the first time by 100 million bpd.
Coal's share of primary energy dropped to its lowest point in 16 years (27%), with consumption dropping by 0.6%, contributing to a sharp drop in OECD production. However, coal remained the single largest source of energy for power generation, accounting for more than 36 % of global electricity.
