Global Energy Transitions Stocktake

EVs now close to 15% of global car market

Electric car sales exceeded 10 million in 2022, and accounted for close to 15% of the global car market, up from less than 5% just two years earlier. China continues to dominate the market, representing around 60% of all electric cars sold globally, followed by Europe then the United States.

A growing number of EV policies, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and new EU CO2 standards for cars and vans are driving the outlook for EV sales up, EV costs down, and and are leading to substantially less oil demand by the end of this decade. Around 500 models of electric cars were available to consumers in 2022, and supply chains continue to grow, especially for EV battery production, which is now responsible for 60% of global lithium demand, 30% of cobalt and 10% of nickel.

Global heat pump sales continue double-digit growth

Global sales of heat pumps grew by 11% in 2022, according to the latest IEA analysis, marking a second year of double-digit growth for the central technology in the world’s transition to secure and sustainable heating. Increased policy support and incentives for heat pumps in light of high natural gas prices and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions were key drivers behind the strong uptake. In Europe, heat pumps enjoyed a record year, with sales growing by nearly 40%. In particular, sales of air-to-water models, which are compatible with typical radiators and underfloor heating systems, jumped by almost 50% in Europe. In the United States, heat pump purchases exceeded those of gas furnaces, while in China, the world’s largest heat pump market, sales remained stable.

In a year marked by energy price shocks, rising inflation, and disruptions to traditional fuel trade flows, global growth in emissions was lower than feared, despite gas-to-coal switching in many countries. Increased deployment of clean energy technologies such as renewables, electric vehicles, and heat pumps helped prevent an additional 550 Mt in CO2 emissions.

Methane emissions remained stubbornly high in 2022

Methane is responsible for around 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution. Cutting methane emissions is one of the most effective near-term ways to limit global warming and improve air quality. Today, the energy sector accounts for around 40% of total methane emissions attributable to human activity, second only to agriculture. In 2022, the global energy industry released nearly 135 million tonnes of methane into the atmosphere, only slightly below the record highs seen in 2019. However, emissions from very large leaks detected by satellite fell by almost 10% in 2022 from what was detected in 2021, and preliminary estimates indicate that there was also a reduction in natural gas flaring.

CCUS set to expand rapidly if all planned projects come online

The IEA's Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) database tracks all CO2 capture, transport, storage, and utilisation projects that have been commissioned since the 1970s and includes projects under construction and planned. If all projects in the pipeline come to fruition, global CO2 capture capacity would reach over 300 million tonnes per year by 2030.