Fossil Fuels In BRICS Countries To Drop Below Half Of Installed Capacity

PICTURE COURTESY : Anadolu Ajansi

Fossil capacity is set to drop below half of the power capacity mix in the BRICS bloc for the first time ever this year, signaling an important milestone in the clean energy transition for countries that still host the vast majority of the world’s coal power, finds a new report from Global Energy Monitor.

BRICS nations include —Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran officially joined the bloc. On 2 September 2024, Turkey officially applied to join the bloc

An analysis of data in the Global Integrated Power Tracker shows 72 gigawatts (GW) of fossil capacity in the BRICS scheduled to come online in 2024. Even in the unlikely case that a further 88 GW under construction without a known target start date also comes online, this total would still not exceed non-fossil additions already built in 2024: 190 GW of non-fossil capacity additions have already come online this year in China, India, and Brazil alone.

This would bring the total non-fossil capacity operating in the BRICS to 2,289 GW versus at most 2,245 GW fossil capacity. For comparison, the European Union reached 50% non-fossil share at the start of the 2010s, and the G7 hit parity last year.

Capacity refers to the maximum amount of electricity that can be produced at any one time, and generation is the amount of electricity that is actually generated over a period of time.

In recent years, the share of fossil fuels has been on the decline in most BRICS countries, with China leading the group, as its share of fossil-fueled capacity has fallen twice that of other BRICS countries over the last five years.

Key points

• Coal, oil, and gas capacity in the BRICS is set to fall below 50% total power capacity by the end of this year.
• Wind and utility-scale solar capacity in development across BRICS is double the amount of coal, oil, and gas power capacity.
• BRICS countries have enough renewables projects in development to nearly triple such capacity by 2030.

Founded in 2009 by its namesake countries Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the BRICS group of major-emerging economies expanded to include South Africa in 2010. Its membership in early 2024 expanded to include Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ethiopia, and Egypt. The bloc now produces more than a third of global GDP and is home to roughly half of the world’s population and CO₂ emissions.

This sea change is thanks in part to the vast pipeline of wind and utility-scale solar capacity in development — projects that have been announced or are in the pre-construction and construction phases — which now outpaces fossils by two to one.

The writer of this article is Dr. Seema Javed, an environmentalist & a communications professional in the field of climate and energy