The world’s appetite for energy rose faster than usual last year because record high global temperatures meant more power was used for cooling, underscoring the vicious cycle between climate change and energy use.

Half of the increase in global emissions from energy last year was down to 2024 being the hottest year on record, the International Energy Agency said on Monday. Overall greenhouse gas emissions from energy use rose 0.8 per cent last year.

The predictable and foreseeable doom loop

The rollout of electric cars and the expansion of data centres needed for artificial intelligence were also to blame for rising power demands, it said, with server capacity increasing by a fifth — mostly in the US and China.

“What is certain is that electricity use is growing rapidly, pulling overall energy demand along with it to such an extent that it is enough to reverse years of declining energy consumption in advanced economies,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol.