According to independent clean energy research group Ember, the first half of 2025 marked a crucial turning point in global energy, as clean sources grew more than demand, displacing fossil fuels for the first time, with renewables surpassing coal generation globally. This shift was primarily driven by significant clean energy growth in China and India, where fossil fuel generation declined, though the U.S. and E.U. saw increased fossil use. Experts highlight this as an economic milestone, with Ember asserting the clean transition is now 'unstoppable' despite some calls for sustained trends to confirm a full energy transition.
🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur. The first half of 2025 brought a small but potentially significant tipping point in the global energy system, according to the independent clean energy research group Ember. "Clean sources grew more than demand and therefore they displaced some fossil fuels," Ember's Senior Electricity Analyst Małgorzata Wiatros-Motyka told Newsweek. The remarkable growth in clean energy has, until now, been more about energy addition than energy transition, as the global growth in demand used up both the power from fossil fuels and new renewable sources. In the first six months of this year, however, that appears to have shifted in what Wiatros-Motyka called "the first signs of a crucial turning point" where clean power is keeping pace with demand growth and beginning to muscle out fossil fuels. "For the first time ever, we saw renewables overtaking coal generation globally," Wiatros-Motyka said. Solar power alone met more than 80 percent of new electricity demand, she said, as solar deployment soared and prices for solar equipment continued to decline. The Ember research found that fossil fuel generation fell in both China and India. China is both the world's biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions and by far the world's clean energy leader. China added more solar and wind than the rest of the world combined, Ember found, and its fossil generation dropped by 2 percent compared to the previous year. In India, renewable energy sources grew more than three times bigger than the country's growth in power demand in the first half of the year. In the U.S. and the E.U., however, clean power growth did not keep up with power demand and fossil generation ticked upward. In the E.U., the report found, countries relied on more gas and coal power as the output from wind and hydro sources dipped. "So, emerging markets are leading the way at the moment," Wiatros-Motyka said. The Ember report covers only the global electricity sector, and no other energy uses such as transportation and industry where fossil fuels still dominate. However, Wiatros-Motyka pointed out, electricity is becoming a bigger part of the total energy picture with the rapid rise of EVs, the wider adoption of heat pumps and battery energy storage. "We have electrification of a number of sectors now," she said. "So, this clean energy growth is really cleaning up other sectors." Sam Kimmins, director of energy at the nonprofit Climate Group, told Newsweek via email that Ember's work "highlights a new milestone" in the economics of clean energy as companies demand the cheaper, faster power that renewables offer. "Their purchasing power and influence is re-making the energy system," Kimmins said. "Governments risk losing business to more competitive markets if they fail to act quickly to improve access to renewables." Brendan Pierpont directs electricity modeling at the independent energy think tank Energy Innovation. Pierpont said the growth of wind and solar globally shows that these are the "cheapest sources of new electrons" and are quickly becoming more competitive with coal and gas. "Global renewable energy deployment keeps exceeding our expectations," Pierpont told Newsweek, as actual measures of wind and solar deployment outdo the forecasts from major monitoring organizations like the International Energy Agency. "It's getting cheaper and easier to integrate these resources on grids as the cost of complementary resources like energy storage also falls in tandem," he said. Clean energy expert Mark Jacobson is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, where he directs the Atmosphere and Energy Program. Jacobson told Newsweek via email that Ember research is "positive news," but said he is not quite ready to declare a turning point in the energy transition until he sees a sustained trend in which "fossil fuel use continues to drop while renewables rise over a two-year period." Jacobson said the Ember research also points to the potential gains from rooftop solar and energy efficiency improvements to further blunt demand for electricity from the grid. He used two leading clean energy states in the U.S., California and Texas, as an example of what's possible through efficiency. While both states have added enormous amounts of wind, solar and battery storage, "the average person in California uses 40 percent of the electricity as the average person in Texas" due to energy efficiency measures for buildings and appliances, he said. Jacobson said the U.S. could match or exceed the drop in fossil generation that China saw in the first half of this year if it pursued a more aggressive development of renewable energy. However, he said, the Trump administration's energy strategy is moving in the other direction, encouraging more use of gas and coal. "The challenge is that the U.S. has now embarked on a policy to stop renewable growth and increase fossil fuel growth," Jacobson said, "potentially slowing the world's efforts to reach a real turning point in the energy transition." Wiatros-Motyka said Ember's data indicates that the clean transition is "unstoppable" and the trend of fossil fuel displacement will continue. "More than half the world's economies are already past the peak of fossil fuels," she said. "So, there is no turning back now, I believe, from this moment." About the writer Jeff Young is Newsweek's Environment and Sustainability Editor based in Louisville, Kentucky. His focus is climate change and sustainability with an ... Read more The first half of 2025 marked a significant global energy inflection point, with clean energy sources growing more than demand, thereby displacing fossil fuels for the first time. Renewables, led by solar power, surpassed coal generation globally, with solar alone meeting over 80% of new electricity demand due to rapid deployment and declining equipment costs. This shift represents a "crucial turning point" in the energy transition, according to Ember's analysis. This displacement was predominantly driven by emerging markets; China saw a 2% drop in fossil generation, and India's renewable growth more than tripled its power demand growth. Conversely, the U.S. and E.U. experienced clean power growth lagging demand, leading to increased reliance on gas and coal. This regional divergence highlights varying policy effectiveness and market dynamics in the transition. Experts affirm the economic viability of renewables, noting they are the "cheapest sources of new electrons" and are fundamentally reshaping the energy system. While Ember asserts the clean transition is "unstoppable," some analysts, like Mark Jacobson, advocate for a sustained two-year trend of fossil fuel decline and renewable growth before declaring a definitive turning point. The increasing electrification of sectors such as EVs and heat pumps further amplifies the impact of clean electricity growth beyond the power sector. The overall sentiment is strongly positive regarding the clean energy transition, with a high market impact score, indicating this development is perceived as a significant structural change. The themes of Renewable Energy Transition, Emerging Markets, and Technology & Innovation are particularly relevant, suggesting a broad impact across various investment categories.
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