Fossil fuels dominate the energy mix. During 2016 – 2017, the 1.5% increase in total primary energy supply has been matched by coal, oil, and natural gas, while renewables are lagging behind (0.7%). This trend appears to continue to 2018 and 2019 as well. In 2017, the gross final energy consumption increased 2% over the past year. Combined, fossil fuels accounted for 80% of the energy consumption globally in 2017, while the share of renewable energy was 17.7% – a drop of 0.2% over the previous year.
Among renewable energy sources, bioenergy (energy from bio-based sources) is the largest. In 2017, bioenergy accounted for 70% of the renewable energy consumption. The contribution of bioenergy share has been decreasing by a few percentage points (approx. 0.5% - 1%) annually, partly due to decreasing use of traditional biomass sources.
This annual report from the World Bioenergy Association discusses the impacts of bioenergy. It covers a wide array of topics, including the global energy system, the supply side of bioenergy, biomass to electricity, biomass to heat, biomass to liquid biofuels, special sectors (biogas, pellets, charcoal), and jobs. Bioenergy raises a lot of opportunities for society, as renewable energy technologies create a lot of spill-over effects on the environment and the economy. This report aims to further deepen the knowledge in this area.