The fossil fuel dilemma

Pandemic recovery, energy security, and profitability are fuelling demand, with China and India spearheading coal production growth

The production of fossil fuels — coal, oil and natural gas — jumped to a record high last year, with as much as 237 million barrels of oil equivalent produced each day. To avert a climate crisis, both the production and consumption of fossil fuels need to move in the opposite direction.

Fossil fuel production is dominated by oil, which accounted for about 40 per cent of the total output in 2022, followed by coal (31 per cent) and gas.

The momentum for supply growth remains strong, with three factors driving it: Pandemic rebound, safeguarding energy security, and profitability, according to BloombergNEF