Renewable energy will overtake coal to become the world’s top source of electricity “by 2026 at the latest”, according to new forecasts from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The rise of renewables is being driven by extremely rapid growth in wind and solar output, which topped 4,000 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2024 and will pass 6,000TWh by 2026.
Wind and solar are increasingly under attack from populist politicians on the right, such as US president Donald Trump and Reform in the UK.
Nevertheless, they will together meet more than 90% of the increase in global electricity demand out to 2026, the IEA says, while modest growth for hydro power will add to renewables’ rise.
With nuclear and gas also reaching record highs by 2026, coal-fired generation is set to decline – driven by falls in China and the EU – meaning that power-sector emissions will decline, too.
The chart below illustrates these profound shifts in the global electricity mix – in particular, the meteoric rise of renewables, driven by wind and solar.
The IEA says that renewables could overtake coal as early as this year, depending on weather-related impacts on the output of wind and hydro capacity.
It adds that the switch will happen by 2026 “at the latest”, when renewables are expected to make up 36% of global power supplies, against just 32% from coal – the fuel’s lowest share in a century.
The share of global electricity generation coming from wind and solar combined will rise from 1% in 2005 and 4% in 2015 to 15% in 2024, 17% in 2025 and nearly 20% in 2026.
The global reduction in coal-fired electricity generation will result from declines in China and the EU, which will only be partially offset by increases in the US, India and other Asian nations.
The IEA attributes the coming decline of coal to “continued renewables growth and higher coal-to-gas switching in multiple regions”. It says gas power will rise by 1.3% this year and next.
For nuclear, the IEA says that the new record output will result from plant restarts in Japan, “robust” output in France and the US, as well as new reactors in China, India and South Korea.
The shift to wind and solar is happening despite global electricity demand being forecast to grow much faster over the next two years – at 3.3% and 3.7%, respectively – than the 2.6% average for 2015-2023.
The IEA says new demand is coming from industry, domestic appliances, growing use of air conditioning, ongoing electrification of heat and transport, as well as the expansion of data centres.
The post IEA: Renewables will be world’s top power source ‘by 2026’ appeared first on Carbon Brief.
A bill to restore the state’s consumer utilities counsel failed to move forward, meaning Georgia will remain one of only a handful of states without a statutory advocate representing ratepayers.
Eighteen years after Georgia eliminated its consumer utility advocate, the fight to bring the office back recently resurfaced at a Senate hearing.
Georgia Hasn’t Had a Consumer Advocate for Electric Ratepayers for 18 Years
Discussing climate change can make a difference. Focusing on the impacts in everyday life is a good place to start, experts say.
When Bad Bunny climbed onto broken power lines during his Super Bowl halftime show, millions of viewers saw a spectacle. Climate communicators saw a lesson in how to talk about climate change.
Wondering How to Talk About Climate Change? Take a Lesson from Bad Bunny
Sydney, Thursday 19 March 2026 — In response to escalating attacks on gas fields in the Middle East, including Israeli strikes on Iran’s giant South Pars gas field and Iranian retaliations on gas fields in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the following lines can be attributed to Solaye Snider, Campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific:
“The targeting of gas fields across the Middle East is a perilous escalation that reinforces just how vulnerable our fossil-fuelled world really is.
“Oil and gas have long been used as tools of power and coercion by authoritarian regimes. They cause climate chaos and environmental pollution and they drive conflict and war. The energy security of every nation still hooked on gas, including Australia, is under direct threat.
“For countries that are reliant on gas imports, like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Korea, this crisis is just getting started. It can take months to restart a gas export facility once it is shut down, meaning the shockwaves of these strikes will be felt for a long time to come.
“It is a gross and tragic injustice that while civilians are killed and lose their homes to this escalating violence, and families struggle with a tightening cost-of-living, gas giants like Woodside and Santos have seen their share prices surge on the prospect of windfall war profits.
“We must break this cycle. Transitioning to local renewable energy is the way to protect Australian households from the inherent volatility of fossil fuels like gas.”
-ENDS-
Images available for download via the Greenpeace Media Library
Media contact: Lucy Keller on 0491 135 308 or lkeller@greenpeace.org
Greenpeace response to escalating attacks on gas fields in Middle East
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