Jordan: each kilowatt-hour is 18% cleaner, yet power plants emit 12% more
From 2013 to 2023 the share of electricity made without coal, gas or oil rose from 0.3% to 22%, but generation grew by 38%, from 17.3 TWh to 23.8 TWh. So total power-plant emissions rose from 11 million tonnes to 13 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.
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Emissions per kWh fall, but so much more electricity is generated that total emissions rise.
One percentage scale relative to 2013: 0% is the starting value, +100% is a doubling, −50% is a halving. Lines show the yearly path; on a short screen, bars show the change to 2023. Equal distances mean equal relative changes. For shares, this is relative change, not percentage points. Gaps are not filled; original values and units are below.
- Low-carbon share of electricity % of generation
0.348 (2013) → 21.96 (2023)
- Wind and solar share of electricity % of generation
0 (2013) → 21.876 (2023)
- Coal share of electricity % of generation
0 (2013) → 0 (2023)
- Carbon intensity of electricity g CO2e per kWh
664.658 (2013) → 542.575 (2023)
- Electricity generation TWh per year
17.26 (2013) → 23.77 (2023)
- Electricity generation emissions Mt CO2e per year
11.472 (2013) → 12.897 (2023)
Start: 2013; end: the latest shared year of six series up to 2023 (2023). Shares, emissions per kWh, generation and total emissions are separate values in the same Ember publication. Only power systems of at least 10 TWh a year. No expected baseline is fitted.
Clean sources are nuclear, hydro, wind, solar and other plants burning no coal, gas or oil; wind and solar are part of that share. Emissions cover power plants only, not the whole economy, in CO₂ equivalent.
A question for this picture
Which improvement matters more: a cleaner kWh or total emissions?