Graph of the Day: World growth in total fossil fuel consumption versus growth in wind and solar, 1990-2013
![Growth in the world’s consumption of fossil fuels (oil [green], natural gas [red] and coal [dark grey] stacked versus the growth in renewables (solar [yellow] and wind [turquoise]), also stacked and all since 1990 to 2013. Graphic: Rune Likvern](http://lh6.ggpht.com/-gRl42nUNR64/VG9xLEAqkgI/AAAAAAAAaHI/pF-MXSv5wpc/image3%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800 "Growth in the world’s consumption of fossil fuels (oil [green], natural gas [red] and coal [dark grey] stacked versus the growth in renewables (solar [yellow] and wind [turquoise]), also stacked and all since 1990 to 2013. Graphic: Rune Likvern")
By Rune Likvern
10 October 2014
(Fractional Flow) – […]The Race between Fossil Fuels and Renewables
By putting the growth between fossil fuels and renewables into a perspective, it demonstrates how dependent our economies, our wealth and well beings are upon fossil fuels. Looking at the growth in total fossil fuels versus renewables consumption since 1990 we should now ask ourselves if we truly are prepared to wean ourselves completely of fossil fuels and transition into a life within an energy budget made up from only renewables (refer also figure 1). In 2013 an estimated 20% of the world’s total energy consumption came from biomass, hydroelectricity, solar, and wind. From 2012 to 2013 global fossil fuels consumption grew more than what total global consumption of solar and wind was in 2013 (this according to data from BP Statistical Review 2014). [more]
The habitability of the planet depends upon our dramatically reducing fossil fuels, so we don't really have a choice.