Energy Institute releases 2026 Statistical Review of World Energy

2 July 20265

The Energy Institute (EI) released the 75^th edition of the Statistical Review of World Energy (formerly by BP) presenting data on global energy and key minerals through 2025.

Among the key messages, the Review states that the world is at a time of energy transition, which in some respect resembles the period of oil shocks in the 1970s, when the world was forced to reduce oil consumption. Today, it is hoped that the energy system will transition to use more renewable electricity, mostly from wind and solar generation. The electrical grid is perceived to be a major challenge for this transition—the grid would have to be modified to increase its capacity and to allow the handling of more intermittent energy.

According to the 2026 Statistical Review, the total energy supply (TES) exceeded 600 EJ in 2025, a rise of 1.7% over 2024, continuing the long-term upward trend in energy demand. Renewables—including solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels—were the largest source of TES growth, adding 3.3 EJ of energy supply. All sources of energy saw increases in 2025, including oil (+2.5 EJ), natural gas (+2.4 EJ), coal (+1.1 EJ), nuclear (+0.4 EJ), and hydro power (+0.1 EJ).

Fossil fuels retained their dominant position, accounting for 86% of TES in 2025. Renewables represented 5.9% of the total primary energy consumption, hydropower 2.7%, and nuclear power 5.2%. Within the ‘renewables’ category, solar power provided 1.7% (10.12 EJ) of total primary energy, while wind generation contributed 1.6% (9.77 EJ).

Other key highlights of the 2026 Statistical Review include:

• Oil—Global oil consumption grew by 1.3% in 2025, an increase from the 1.1% growth seen in 2024, to 103 million barrels per day (crude oil + natural gas liquids). Oil production continued to be dominated by the Middle East (led by Saudi Arabia), the United States and Russia. Global dependence on imported oil has been laid bare following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in late February 2026. Analysis from 2025 trade data shows major demand centers were heavily reliant on imports, with India, China and Europe importing 86%, 73% and 75%, respectively, of their oil consumption.
• Natural Gas—Gas demand increased by 1.6% year-on-year, below the 10-year average growth of 1.9%. Gas consumption growth was concentrated in Europe, the Middle East and North America. Gas was also a source of dependence, with India and Europe reliant on imported gas to meet half their supply needs, and China for over a third. Elsewhere, the USA continued to increase its role as a net energy exporter in 2025, led by exports of LNG which grew by 27%.
• Coal—Global coal consumption grew by 0.7% in 2025. In China, coal consumption was flat year-on-year, as a result of slower demand for coking coal used in steel making and a significant increase in solar generation. India’s coal consumption increased by 0.6% year-on-year, much lower than the 10-year average growth of 3.6%. The USA saw 10% growth in coal consumption, as a 50% increase in US gas prices shifted power plant economics, causing a significant switch from gas to coal generation.
• Electric Energy—Electricity demand continued to grow faster than TES, rising 3% year-on-year. Solar achieved 30% growth in 2025 and its share of total power generation reached 8.7%, surpassing wind (8.4%) for the first time and almost equaling nuclear’s share of 8.8%.
• Carbon Emissions—Global CO₂ emissions from the energy sector rose by 1.1% to 35,806.2 million tonnes of CO₂. More than a third of that rise was from the United States. Europe’s CO₂ emissions from the energy sector increased by 0.5%. North America had the second-largest regional growth rate for energy emissions at 2.7% (after Africa at 2.8%) and the largest growth in absolute terms of 152.3 million tonnes of CO₂, bucking the region’s 10-year decline trend of -0.7%. Total emissions including energy and other sources rose by 1.1% to 41,000 million tonnes of CO₂.

Source: Energy Institute