Key Takeaways

• Global emissions continue to rise, largely driven by the power sector’s combustion of coal.
• We see heterogeneity in the ‘dirtiness’ of electricity grids across the Emerging Markets (EM). Asia-Pacific (APAC) is comparatively more coal dependent, Latin America (LATAM) is generally a lot cleaner, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) sits in the middle.
• China is central to global decarbonisation. It is still the largest coal consumer in absolute terms, but is rapidly expanding its renewable generation capacity.
• The carbon intensity of grid electricity directly impacts corporates through their Scope 2 carbon emissions. The dirtier the energy, the greater the importance of using it efficiently.

The Emerging Market Energy Landscape: Pathways, Pitfalls & the Importance of Resource Efficiency