David Lawrence is a respected energy consultant who has past leadership experience with Shell in oil and gas exploration and development, acquisitions and divestments, renewables, finance and research. Leveraging the knowledge he gained at Shell to provide and evaluate energy investment opportunities and advice, David Lawrence stays informed on the latest energy transition developments in traditional and renewable energy.

1. AS
RENEWABLES
MAKE GAINS,
GLOBAL
FOSSIL FUEL
CONSUMPTION
INCREASES
David Lawrence

2. Introduction
• David Lawrence is a respected energy consultant who has past
leadership experience with Shell in oil and gas exploration and
development, acquisitions and divestments, renewables, finance and
research. Leveraging the knowledge he gained at Shell to provide and
evaluate energy investment opportunities and advice, David Lawrence
stays informed on the latest energy transition developments in
traditional and renewable energy.
While renewables such as hydropower, solar, and wind are making
great strides in cost competitiveness and adoption levels, this is not the
death knell for fossil fuels that many assume.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports energy demand in 2018
expanded at its fastest pace in a decade, with the organization’s
executive director calling it a "golden year" for gas. Some 45 percent of
the increase in energy consumption was tied to natural gas, with 25
percent attributed to coal production.The end result was a 1.7 percent
total worldwide CO2 emissions increase, to 33 gigatons.

3. Renewables
• Still, renewable energy is now estimated to account for
approximately one-third of power generation capacity worldwide,
its highest level ever.The International Renewable Energy Agency
(IRENA) recently released a report that presents 171GW of
renewable energy being added in 2018, a 7.9 percent annual
increase.At the end of 2018, global renewable generation capacity
amounted to 2351 GW. Hydro accounted for the largest share of the
global total, with an installed capacity of 1172 GW.*Wind and solar
energy accounted for most of the remainder, with capacities of 564
GW and 486 GW respectively. Other renewables included 115 GW
of bioenergy, 13 GW of geothermal energy and 500 MW of marine
energy (tide, wave and ocean energy).