The project - "Electricity Mix in the World"

Findings

• With a surplus of more than 9000 kWh per inhabitant, Paraguay can theoretically export the largest share of energy per inhabitant. Only a very small proportion of the energy, a maximum of 2 kWh, is generated with fossil fuels. The largest share comes from hydropower. Finland and Luxembourg are the worst performers in a global comparison. With an electricity deficit of 13,000 kWh per inhabitant, Luxembourg is heavily dependent on imports. In addition, most of the energy it produces itself comes from fossil fuels. Finland also has to import more and more energy in the form of electricity. More than half of the domestic energy mix consists of fossil and nuclear production.
• There are no signs of a clear shift in electricity production towards climate-friendly renewable energies. Many countries still have increasing consumption, which is often covered by fossil fuels (e.g. China, Morocco or Algeria). Especially in Europe, in countries like Germany, or even more visibly in Great Britain, a change in energy production is visible. These countries reduced their non-renewable electricity production in the period under consideration from 2000 to 2019. However, a global trend is not discernible.
• The climate agreement promotes renewable electricity production. The import of electricity is less clearly regulated. Therefore, it could be more attractive for countries to import energy in the form of electricity instead of producing it from renewable sources. This could be observed in our case in countries that reduce their fossil fuel production, but at the same time do not promote renewable energy production nor reduce consumption. This gap must be filled with imported electricity, which is more difficult to trace back to how it was produced. This phenomenon, that attempts to circumvent the rules of the climate agreement, has not been observed in any country. Countries that reduce their non-renewable production also consume less energy (e.g. Great Britain).

Many countries have signed climate agreements such as the one in Copenhagen or Paris, confirming that they are switching their electricity production to renewable energy sources (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2009). Our map shows how consumption and the type and quantity of production have changed worldwide in the last 20 years. It further highlights how individual countries are doing globally in terms of absolute consumption and production, as well as per capita. Clear representations should show the population how countries are adapting their electricity production.