A record year, and a turning point

In 2024, the world reached a remarkable, if contradictory, milestone.

According to the BBC, renewables overtook coal as the world’s largest source of electricity for the first time. Yet, as The Guardian reported just days after, global coal use hit an all-time high, the most coal ever burned for power generation in a single year. 

It sounds impossible, both can’t be true at once, right? But they can.

Global electricity demand is rising faster than ever. So, while renewables are expanding at record speed, the total “energy pie” keeps getting bigger. Coal’s slice has finally become smaller than renewables’, but in absolute terms, it’s still growing. 

The world is burning more coal, even as we rely on it less.

It’s a paradox that captures the messy reality of the energy transition: progress and dependency coexisting side by side.

The push and pull of progress

Several forces drove this record year. Economic recovery, population growth, and electrification of transport and heating have all lifted energy demand. In China and India, record-breaking heat pushed grids to their limits, and coal was the fallback that kept power flowing

Meanwhile, Europe and the United States continue to move away from coal, with closures accelerating and investment shifting toward renewables, storage, and nuclear. But those declines are being outpaced by growth elsewhere – particularly in developing economies where coal remains an affordable and secure source of energy.

It’s not a return to the past, but rather a sign of how uneven progress looks on a global scale.

Beyond the numbers, the human dimension

The BBC’s coverage adds something often missing from energy statistics: people. In many coal-producing regions, mines and power plants are closing, leaving behind communities whose livelihoods are tied to a fuel the world is trying to leave behind. For them, the energy transition isn’t an abstract climate goal; it’s job loss, identity loss, and the slow decline of local economies.

A just transition requires more than technology. It means supporting workers, retraining communities, and investing in new industries that can replace what’s being phased out. Ignoring that social reality risks slowing progress or breeding resistance to it.

What this means for business

For companies, these two headlines together carry a clear message: the transition is real, but far from complete.

The rise of renewables marks an opportunity: new markets, new technologies, and new investments. But the persistence of coal highlights the structural challenges that remain: heavy industry, grid reliability, and uneven policy frameworks across regions.

It’s also a credibility test. As more organisations make net-zero commitments, stakeholders expect transparency about what change actually looks like, including its contradictions. Communicating with honesty, rather than optimism alone, builds trust and positions brands as serious players in the transition.

2024 will be remembered as the year the world took two steps forward and one step back. Renewables passed a historic milestone. Coal broke a record of its own.

This isn’t failure, it’s friction. The kind that always appears when old systems meet new ones. The task now is to turn coexistence into replacement, accelerating investment, aligning policy, and ensuring that the shift to clean energy is not only fast but fair.

Because milestones are only meaningful if they mark direction, not detours.

---

Click here to find out more about BCM Global Renewable Energy PR Agency

Related Posts