BP found global energy demand grew by 2.9% last year in the newly released 68th annual edition of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy.
The London-based energy company, which operates the BP Whiting Refinery, warned that carbon emissions grew by 2% worldwide last year, at the fastest rate since 2010-2011, cautioning the world was on an unsustainable path.
"The longer carbon emissions continue to rise, the harder and more costly will be the necessary eventual adjustment to net-zero carbon emissions," BP CEO Bob Dudley said. "As I have said before, this is not a race to renewables, but a race to reduce carbon emissions across many fronts."
BP Chief Economist Spencer Dale said action was not happening fast enough to reduce emissions globally.
"There is a growing mismatch between societal demands for action on climate change and the actual pace of progress, with energy demand and carbon emissions growing at their fastest rate for years," Dale said. "The world is on an unsustainable path."
The report found that the use of renewable energy grew by 14.5% last year, which was close to the previous record-breaking increase in 2017. But solar, wind, hydro and other forms of renewable power only accounted for about a third of the increase in total power generation worldwide.
Natural gas production grew by more than 5%, the most in 50 years. Coal production rose by 4.3% after three years of decline.
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