The clock is ticking on averting the worst impacts of climate change and preserving a livable planet for humans and other species to thrive.  

Scientists agree this will require limiting global average temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, and ideally 1.5 C, as outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement.  

To do so, countries need to reduce emissions 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. This means they must either remove as much CO2 as they emit or stop it altogether.  

So where does the world stand when it comes to meeting these goals? 

1. How much do we rely on fossil fuels?

Turning away from coal, oil and gas is crucial to achieving carbon neutrality. While the share of renewables in the energy mix is growing slowly but steadily, most economies are still heavily dependent on fossil fuels.

The 2024 regional leaders in energy consumption from renewable sources are Norway in Europe (73%), Brazil in the Americas (51%), and New Zealand (42%) and Vietnam (23%) in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the British Energy Institute, a business association for companies working in the sector.

Meanwhile, countries like Turkmenistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Kuwait, Algeria, Singapore, Iraq, Qatar and Saudi Arabia still rely on fossil fuels for more than 99% of their energy. At 87%, Poland consumes the highest share of fossil fuel in Europe. 

But the world’s hot spots for coal-fired power plants are located elsewhere. China is home to 3,269 of the 6,552 such sites operational globally. India (850) and the US (391) follow behind. Though they have collectively mothballed, retired and canceled 3,940 coal-fired plants since 2000, their top tier positions remain untouched, according to the Global Energy Monitor. The NGO curates data on fossil fuel and renewable energy projects worldwide.

To uphold the Paris Agreement, the world needs to rapidly phase out coal. According to Berlin-based think tank Climate Analytics, by 2030 global coal use needs to reduce by 80% compared to 2010 levels.

2. Where is the energy for heating and electricity coming from?

Energy consumption is divided into three sectors: energy used for transport, electricity and heating.  

Most of it goes to heating. According to an analysis by the Paris-based intergovernmental organization International Energy Agency (IEA), around half of total energy consumption is used to provide heat for homes, industry and other applications.  

Currently, 14% of heat is produced from renewable sources and the IEA projects this share will increase to 18% by 2028. 

In shared rental buildings, tenants don't always have a say in the type of energy used for heating, but consumers can usually choose where their electricity comes from.  

Countries in the Middle East source the smallest share of their electricity from renewables (5%). Other regions like Africa (24%) and, particularly, Latin America and the Caribbean (63%) fare much better. 

Electricity generation is also important for making transport carbon-neutral. Electric vehicles, for example, are not climate friendly if the energy used to charge them was generated by burning fossil fuels.

3. How is the transport sector changing?

Unlike the vehicles that get people from A to B, progress on cutting emissions in the transport sector is slow. Car sales are declining overall, but the vast majority of those sold are still combustion engine models. Of the 78 million cars bought in 2024, 22% (almost 17.6 million) were electric. 

But what about other high-emitting forms of transport? The aviation sector, for instance, contributes to a relatively small share of global emissions, but demand for flying is expected to rise sharply by 2030.  

It’s also one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize, since there are still no large-scale alternatives to the energy-dense jet fuel that powers today’s aircraft. Hydrogen-powered planes and sustainable aviation fuels are being explored but are not yet viable options. 

4. How well are we protecting ecosystems?

While there have been various forest expansion efforts around the world over the past few decades — peaking between 2000-2015 with 10 million new hectares (24.7 million acres) per year — deforestation has occurred at a faster rate.

The net change in forest area over the past few decades shows how efforts to plant new trees in South America and Africa do not nearly make up for losses.

This is particularly noteworthy since both regions have a leading share of protected forests, which raises questions about the effectiveness of these conservation areas.

5. How has investment in renewables evolved?

Renewables are on an upward trajectory. Carbon-neutral energy has attracted more investment thanfossil fuels in recent years, according to the IEA. In 2015, more than half of all energy investments went into oil, coal and gas. In 2025 this is estimated to be down to less than a third.

Edited by: Anke Rasper, Tamsin Walker and Jennifer Collins

This article was originally published in 2021. It was updated in November 2025 to reflect recent developments.

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