Renewables will “dominate” global power supply growth over the next three years as they rise to account for more than one third of the world’s total generation mix and help curb emissions growth from electricity supply, said the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The global body in its latest Electricity Market Report 2023 says renewables will by 2025 make up 35% of global generation, up from 29% this year, as they satisfy an average 3% annual increase in power demand largely driven by China, India and Southeast Asia.

The strong role of renewables and nuclear sees the shares of gas and coal-fired power falling, helping curb emissions rises helping to correct a rise in CO2 intensity seen in increased fossil fuel use in Europe.

“The world’s growing demand for electricity is set to accelerate, adding more than double Japan’s current electricity consumption over the next three years,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol.

“The good news is that renewables and nuclear power are growing quickly enough to meet almost all this additional appetite, suggesting we are close to a tipping point for power sector emissions. Governments now need to enable low-emissions sources to grow even faster and drive down emissions so that the world can ensure secure electricity supplies while reaching climate goals.”

The IEA’s report noted the “recurring theme of extreme weather conditions” in 2022. “In addition to the drought in Europe, there were heatwaves in India, resulting in the country’s highest ever peak in power demand. Similarly, central and eastern regions of China were hit by heatwaves and drought, which caused demand for air conditioning to surge amid reduced hydropower generation in Sichuan province. The US also saw severe winter storms in December, triggering massive power outages.

“As the clean energy transition gathers pace, the impact of weather events on electricity demand will intensify due to the increased electrification of heating, while the share of weather-dependent renewables will continue to grow in the generation mix. In such a world, increasing the flexibility of power systems while ensuring security of supply and resilience of networks will be crucial.”