The world has reached the 'beginning of the end of the fossil age': Study

A boom in wind and solar has pushed the amount of electricity produced by renewable energy to record levels last year, according to a new analysis, a media report said.

The use of coal, oil and gas to produce electricity is expected to fall in 2023 according to the report published by energy think tank Ember. This would be the first year to see a decline in the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity, outside of a global recession or pandemic, CNN reported.

Levels of planet-heating pollution from fossil fuel electricity generation may have already peaked, the report found, CNN reported.

The findings show the world has reached the "beginning of the end of the fossil age," the lead author of the research, Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, said in a statement. "We are entering the clean power era," she added, CNN reported.

Ember analysed data from 78 countries representing 93 per cent of global demand for electricity, for the fourth edition of its annual Global Electricity Review.

Nearly 40 per cent of global electricity is now powered by renewables and nuclear energy, marking a new record high, according to the report, CNN reported.

Wind and solar made up 12 per cent of global energy generation in 2022, up from 10 per cent the previous year.

Solar energy was the fastest-growing source of electricity in 2022 for the 18th year in a row, rising by 24 per cent compared to the previous year. Wind generation increased by 17 per cent.

Ember forecasts that in 2023, clean energy will be able to meet the total growth in electricity demand, CNN reported.

Fossil fuels do still dominate, however, coal power remained the single largest source of electricity across the globe, accounting for 36 per cent of global electricity production in 2022. This is because overall demand for electricity rose, and not all of it was met from renewable sources, according to Wiatros-Motyka.