Global energy demand fell beyond predictions in 2020: bp Statistical Review

Drop was most since World War-II; renewable energy deployment zoomed in 2020

Global energy demand fell the most since World War-II during 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic stalled global economic activity. According to the bp Statistical Review of World Energy 2021, world energy demand is estimated to have fallen by 4.5 per cent in 2020.

This is steeper than the earlier projections for the year. “Even after controlling for the collapse in economic activity, the decline in energy demand was close to twice the size of the ‘predicted’ fall: 4.5 per cent compared with a predicted fall of around 2.5 per cent.”

The crash is largely on account of lower oil demand