- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
Sun, wind power make record 12% of world electricity: survey
Solar and wind energy surged to make a record 12 percent of the world's electricity in 2022, a climate think tank calculated in a report Wednesday -- though coal remained the leading source globally.
The report provides the latest gauge of renewable energy growth as countries scramble to meet emissions targets to curb climate change and secure alternative power sources after gas-exporter Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"Record growth in wind and solar drove the emissions intensity of the world's electricity to its lowest ever level in 2022," said climate and energy think tank Ember in its yearly Global Electricity Review.
Helping slow the rise in planet-heating emissions, power from wind turbines and solar panels was up to 12 percent from 10 percent in 2021 and five percent in 2015.
Renewable sources, including nuclear power, accounted for 39 percent of world electricity, the group estimated.
The rest came from fossil fuels that cause planet-warming carbon emissions: oil, gas, and coal, which was the biggest source at 36 percent.
With electricity demand continuing to rise, coal generation grew 1.1 percent -- slower than expected, Ember said.
Scientists and the International Energy Agency say use of these fossil fuels must be reduced sharply to reach the critical target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Countries at the COP26 UN climate summit in 2021 agreed to "phase down" coal, the most polluting of the fossil fuels, but progress has been limited and new coal plants are planned, notably in India and China.
"We forecast that 2023 will see a small fall in fossil generation... with bigger falls in subsequent years as wind and solar grow further," Ember said.
"That would mean 2022 hit 'peak' emissions. A new era of falling power sector emissions is close."
N.Esteves--PC