Matt is an environment correspondent.

wind turbinesImage source, Getty Images

According to a new study, the world is using more fossil fuels than ever.

The share of wind and solar in the global energy mix has not increased in the last decade according to a report.

The electricity sector saw a boom in renewable energy last year, but they weren't able to meet the increase in demand.

Less than 4% of transport's energy comes from renewable sources.

According to the authors, the current situation in Ukranian has made this trend worse.

Industry figures, scientists, and some governments make up the REN21 network.

The 17th annual status report draws on over 600 experts to produce a snapshot of what is happening in renewable energy.

The transition to renewable energy has stopped. Coal, oil and gas are used more and more.

Solar tidalImage source, Getty Images
Image caption, A solar and tidal energy power plant recently opened in China

The share of renewable energy has gone from 11.6% to 11.7%, but fossil fuels have gone from 80.1% to 79.6%." Rana Adib is the executive director of REN 21.

Since the energy demand is increasing, this means that we are consuming more fossil fuels.

Most of the increase in energy use was met by fossil fuels.

The rise in carbon emissions resulted in a global increase.

The prices of oil, gas and coal have gone up since then as supplies have struggled to keep up with demand.

Governments scampering to find alternative sources have been made worse by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The UK has imposed new taxes on the profits of oil and gas producers as energy prices have gone up.

windImage source, Getty Images
Image caption, Large-scale wind turbine installations grew rapidly in 2021

New subsidies for fossil fuels have been enacted in many countries.

$11 million per minute is spent on subsidising fossil fuel. 7% of the global GDP was achieved in 2020.

Even though renewable energy is an economic alternative to fossil fuels, it isn't playing in a fair market.

The problems of transport lie in the areas of renewable energy.

Cars, lorries, ships and airplanes account for 32% of final energy consumption, but green energy only had a 3.7% share.

Slow progress shows the importance of policies in moving markets.

With a ban of the internal combustion engine, there's a regulatory obligation to move away from this, and I think this is encouraging.

There wasn't much progress on the political promises made at the big international climate conference.

solarImage source, Getty Images
Image caption, Growing crops in the shade of solar panels is termed agrivoltaics

In the run up to the meeting in Glasgow, 135 countries had net zero emissions targets, but only 84 had economy wide targets.

The world has changed since that time.

Governments are reaching for everything they can to ease the burden on their citizens because of the high prices of energy.

That could lead to a big increase in spending on green sources as they are cheaper than fossil fuels and are more attractive for other reasons.

Teresa Ribera is a vice president in the government of Spain.

It will allow innovative business models and forms of organisation, transform value chains, redistribute economic power and shape governance in new, more people-centred ways.

Every country in the world has a chance for greater energy independence and security with the right investments.

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  • COP26
  • Paris climate agreement
  • Climate change
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