2015

Between 2000 and 2012 the global consumption of ‘Primary Energy’ increased by 32%, the global CO2 Emissions from the burning of fossil fuels increased by 34% and the world’s population grew by 15%. These figures should be seen in the context of the historic increases of ‘atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases’ and the resulting ‘temperature rise’. The heartbreakingly imprudent and brutal development is reflected in 82 countries’ current Climate Debt in ClimatePositions. Many countries wisely prioritize ‘renewable energy’, however, globally renewable energy¹ (electrically generated) was only 8.6% of the total primary energy production in 2012 compared to 7.4% in 2000.

The table below ranks the 82 countries with Climate Debt by:

1. Climate Debt per capita in 2013 (worst performing first).
2. CO2 Emissions from fossil fuels in tons per capita in 2012.
3. Renewable energy production (electrically generated) as share of the total primary energy production in 2012.
4. Increase of the share of renewable energy production from 2000 to 2012.

Values superior to the world average in each of the four categories are blue in the table. Note that the potentials of renewable energy are spread unevenly among countries and that the figures include exported electricity. Read the comments below the table.

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A comparison between the 41 countries with the largest Climate Debt and the 41 countries with the smallest Climate Debt shows that the average share of renewable energy of the two country groups is almost identical (around 10%; column 3). Since 2000, the first country group has improved by less than 2% while the second country group is below 0% (column 4).

If you look only at the increased share of renewable energy since 2000 (column 4) Estonia and Denmark stand out with 15% and 12% increase respectively. The eight countries with the largest Climate Debt per capita have renewable energy shares close to zero.

¹Total Renewable Electricity Generation, 2012: Hydroelectric (77.3%), Geothermal (1.4%), Solar (2.0%), Tide and Wave (0.01%), Wind (11.0%) and Biomass and Waste (8.1%).

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Source on ‘CO2 Emissions‘: EIA, U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Source on ‘Total Renewable Electricity Net Generation (Quadrillion Btu)‘: EIA, U.S. Energy Information Administration.  

Source on ‘Total Primary Energy Production (Quadrillion Btu)‘: EIA, U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Source on ‘Renewable Energy Electricity Generation by country‘: EIA, U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Installation (with floor mat, orange, leek and tomato) by Claus Andersen, 2015.