Global energy consumption bounced back topping pre-pandemic levels in 2021.

That’s according to bp’s Statistical Review of Global Energy which estimates that primary energy demand increased by 5.8% in 2021, exceeding 2019 levels by 1.3%.

The analysis suggests global primary energy grew by 31 exajoules (EJ) last year, the largest increase in history.

bp said the share of renewables in the global power generation mix reached almost 13% in 2021, higher than the share of nuclear energy which was 9.8%.

The authors of the report also stressed that energy-related emissions rebounded strongly last year back to around 2019 levels.

They said as economic activity recovered from lockdown restrictions, energy consumption increased sharply.

Spencer Dale, Chief Economist at bp, said: “In many ways, this sharp rebound in energy demand is a sign of global success, driven by a rapid recovery in economic activity as the widespread distribution of effective vaccines allowed for an easing in Covid-19 restrictions in many parts of the world and a return to our everyday lives.

“But it also highlights that the pronounced dip in carbon emissions in 2020 was only temporary.”