Coal, natural gas, and oil continue to dominate global electricity generation, accounting for 57% of total output, according to a new analysis by the Pew Research Center based on data from energy tracker Ember. While the figure represents a meaningful decline from the 65% share recorded in 2000, it underscores the persistent grip of hydrocarbons on the world's power systems despite decades of investment in clean energy alternatives. The findings align with a separate assessment by the Energy Institute in its Statistical Review of World Energy, which estimates the combined share of coal, gas, and oil in global primary energy consumption at 86% — a level essentially unchanged over the past two decades.
Both reports point to a structural reality that renewable capacity additions have yet to displace fossil fuels in any meaningful aggregate sense. Wind and solar have nonetheless made striking gains. Together, the two sources now account for 17% of global electricity generation, up from less than 5% a decade ago, according to Ember data cited by Pew Research Center.
When bundled with geothermal, hydropower, and tidal power, renewable energy sources collectively surpass hydrocarbons in their share of global electricity generation — a calculation heavily influenced by the world's long-established and substantial hydropower infrastructure. One of the more concerning findings in the Pew Research Center report is the contraction of nuclear power's role in the global electricity mix. Nuclear now supplies just 9% of global electricity generation, down sharply from 17% in 2000.
The Energy Institute has identified this trend as particularly problematic in the context of accelerating electricity demand growth, which is outpacing the addition of new generation capacity even as solar deployment accelerates. The Energy Institute's analysis attributes the continued reliance on coal, gas, and to a lesser extent oil to their dispatchable nature — they can be deployed on demand, unlike intermittent wind and solar generation. This fundamental characteristic continues to make hydrocarbons indispensable to grid stability across much of the world.
Both the Pew Research Center and the Energy Institute highlight a critical imbalance: global electricity demand is growing much faster than supply is being added, which is driving an increase in the absolute consumption of fossil fuels even as their relative share of the generation mix declines. China presents the most paradoxical case study in the global energy transition. The country leads the world in installed wind and solar capacity, yet simultaneously remains the largest consumer of coal and continues to build new coal-fired power plants.
This duality illustrates the distinction between energy capacity additions and actual energy consumption patterns. At the other end of the spectrum, the European Union recorded a milestone in which non-hydrocarbon sources accounted for 48% of electricity generation, compared to 29% from gas and coal combined, according to Ember data. The EU's figure likely includes a significant contribution from hydropower, though the Pew Research Center report does not provide a detailed breakdown by source type.
The data, reported by Irina Slav for OilPrice.com on July 21, 2026, paints a picture of an energy transition that is progressing but remains far from complete, with fossil fuels retaining a commanding position in the global electricity system well into the mid-2020s.
Source: oilprice.com