Energy & Kardashev
Abundant energy and planetary resource management
How do we power our world?
Start with the big picture. Open the sections below to see the evidence and future goals.
Progress Scale progress
0.73 · Kardashev K
world energy ≈ 2.0 × 10¹³ W
Steps toward the future
Explore the milestone ladder
- nowFossil-dominated grid (86% of primary energy)LEVEL 2
- doneRenewables overtake coal in electricity2025LEVEL 2
- doneFusion ignition, Q > 1Dec 2022LEVEL 2
- nextFusion pilot plant on the grid (Helion / CFS ARC)2028–early 2030sLEVEL 2
- plannedITER full deuterium–tritium operation2039LEVEL 3
- farKardashev Type I — harness all sunlight reaching Earth~2,000× today's powerLEVEL 4
Economic conditions for progress
Explore IMF findings on fiscal pressure, AI investment, trade and digital-finance risk.
Read the 2026 IMF research brief ↗Human dimensions
Architecture & living spaces ↗
Related measures within Humanity.
Resources & nature
Explore planetary boundaries, renewable energy, mineral supply, forest change and species conservation, with source dates and scope.
Open resources dashboard ↗Action path
Level 2: >50% clean electricity; first fusion plant on the grid
Explore the possible steps
Possible steps
- Overbuild solar + storage (solar generation +30% in 2025)
- Electrify heat and transport to absorb it
- Fusion pilots prove the second half (Helion 2028, CFS ARC early 2030s)
- Clean share crosses 50%
Grid interconnection and permitting, not generation — the approved-but-unconnected queue
Fission renaissance carries base load if fusion slips: China's build rate plus Western SMR fleets
What to watch
GW of solar and storage connected per year; first fusion plant's Q and uptime
Related snapshot measures
These are the available measures in the supplied dataset; they may be proxies for the leading indicators above.
K is logarithmic: Level 3's K ≥ 0.85 needs ~16× today's power. The near-term score is the clean share.
A scenario from the supplied handoff, not a prediction or professional advice.
Sourced indicators / 4
Open a measurement to see where it comes from.
See measurements & sources
New here? What the labels mean
Reported fact
A number from a named source. Check when, where and what it measures.
Model or score
A way to compare things using chosen rules. Different rules can give different scores.
Future goal or scenario
Something we hope to achieve, or imagine might happen. It is not a measured fact.
- Milestone
- An important step toward a goal.
- Indicator
- A measurement that helps us understand something.
- Dependency
- Something that may need help from something else.
- Biodiversity
- The variety of living things.
- GW
- Gigawatts: a unit of power. Capacity is what equipment can produce at its rated output.