The global energy transition is now “unstoppable” due to “smart economics”, UN general-secretary António Guterres has said in an online speech titled: “A moment of opportunity.”
His comments coincide with two reports released today, one from International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the other from the UN that utilises the former’s research.
Between them, the reports provide details of how the “plummeting” cost of renewables has helped the sector expand at pace, meaning that renewables now almost match fossil fuels in terms of global installed power capacity.
In 2024, 91% of renewable power projects that were commissioned were more cost effective than any new fossil-fuel alternatives, according to IRENA.
The 582 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity added to the global energy system in 2024 helped avoid fossil-fuel use valued at about $57bn, with further cost savings expected as the sector continues to grow.
In his speech, Guterres said:
“Throughout history, energy has shaped the destiny of humankind – from mastering fire, to harnessing steam, to splitting the atom. Now, we are on the cusp of a new era. Fossil fuels are running out of road. The sun is rising on a clean-energy age.”
Below, Carbon Brief details five of the key points from the reports and Guterres’ speech.
- Renewables are increasing as costs fall
- Investment in clean energy tips $2bn
- ‘Stability…in a volatile global energy landscape’
- China dominates deployment…others should now follow
- ‘Faster and fairer’ for 1.5C
Renewables are increasing as costs fall
The cost of renewable energy technologies has fallen over the past decade, with 96% of new solar and wind now costing less than new coal and gas plants, according to IRENA.
In 2024, the global average cost of electricity generated by solar photovoltaics (PV) and onshore wind was 41% and 53% cheaper, respectively, than the least-cost new fossil fuel-fired power plant.
The global average cost of solar PV has fallen to $0.43 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and onshore wind to $0.34/kWh.
There were some small increases in costs between 2023 and 2024 for some technologies, IRENA notes. Solar PV’s levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) increased by 0.6%, onshore wind by 3%, offshore wind by 4% and bioenergy by 13%.
According to BloombergNEF, increases were broadly due to inflation and supply chain pressures. These led to the first jump in the costs of offshore wind in the UK’s renewable energy auctions, for example.
However, IRENA explains that long-term cost reductions are expected to continue, as further technological lessons are “learnt” and supply chains mature.
Alongside this drop in cost, renewable energy capacity has increased significantly over the past decade, growing by around 2,600GW, or 140%, between 2015 and 2024, according to the UN report.
Over the same period, fossil fuels increased by around 640GW, or 16%.
In 2024 alone, renewables made up 92.5% of all new electricity capacity additions, as well as 74% of electricity generation growth.
This means that the share of global installed capacity is now nearly a 1:1 ratio between fossil fuels and renewables, the UN report notes.
Between 2015 and 2024, renewables increased by 81% in terms of global annual electricity generation compared to a 13% increase for fossil fuels.
The global rollout of solar and wind is already having a significant impact on emissions, saving almost the equivalent of the EU’s annual emissions.
Despite the increase in renewable energy capacity to date, lagging investment in expanding and modernising electricity grids is “becoming a bottleneck for the energy transition”, cautions the UN report. There are at least 3,000GW of renewable power projects waiting for a grid connection.
Investment in clean energy tips $2bn
In 2024, global annual clean-energy investments exceeded $2tn for the first time, according to the UN report.
This is $800bn more than fossil-fuel investment, as shown in the chart below, up almost 70% in 10 years. It follows investment in clean energy surpassing fossil-fuel investment in 2016.
Subsequently, the number of jobs in the clean-energy sector has also continued to grow, reaching 34.8m in 2023, of which 16.2n were in the renewables sector.
According to the UN report, in 2023, the clean-energy sector added $320bn to the global economy. This accounted for 10% of GDP growth globally.
Clean energy accounted for an even higher percentage in certain regions, For example, nearly a third of the EU’s GDP came from the sector. It made up 5% in India, 6% in the US and 20% in China.
In his speech, Guterres noted that, despite clean energy increasingly driving economies, there is still “clean market distortion” with fossil fuels benefiting nine-to-one from consumption subsidies globally. He continued:
“Add to that the unaccounted costs of climate damages on people and planet – and the distortion is even greater. Countries that cling to fossil fuels are not protecting their economies – they are sabotaging them. Driving up costs. Undermining competitiveness. Locking-in stranded assets. And missing the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century.”
The UN report notes that, in 2024, the economic losses from weather-related extreme events were estimated to be $320bn, of which 56% were uninsured.
Under IRENA’s 1.5C scenario for the energy transition, global annual GDP would increase by 1.5% between 2023 and 2050.
‘Stability…in a volatile global energy landscape’
In 2024, renewable energy helped “avoid” $467bn in fossil-fuel costs globally, according to IRENA.
This reinforces renewables’ role as “not only as the lowest-cost source of new power, but also as a key driver of energy security, economic stability and resilience in a volatile global energy landscape”.
Between 2000 and 2023, Asia saw the biggest savings from clean-energy investment, with £212bn avoided, as shown on the chart below.
This was predominantly due to China, where renewable energy is surging, helping to put the country’s emissions “into reverse” for the first time earlier this year, according to Carbon Brief analysis. (The UN report cites two articles published by Carbon Brief this year.)
In a statement released alongside the report, IRENA director-general Francesco La Camera said:
“The cost-competitiveness of renewables is today’s reality. Looking at all renewables currently in operation, the avoided fossil-fuel costs in 2024 reached up to $467bn. New renewable power outcompetes fossil fuels on cost, offering a clear path to affordable, secure and sustainable energy. This achievement is the result of years of innovation, policy direction and growing markets.”
Additionally, the continued expansion of renewable energy technologies can, says the UN report, help to protect people from the impact of geopolitical instability on international energy markets.
Around 74% of the global population lives in a country that is a net importer of fossil fuels, the report notes. As such, when oil and gas prices surge, they are left particularly vulnerable.
For example, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, gas prices reached record highs and oil prices hit their highest level since 2008, the UN report adds.
Consequently, the average energy bill globally was 20% higher than the average over the previous five years. This was more acute in countries that are particularly reliant on gas imports, such as South Korea, which spent $17bn more on gas in 2022 compared to 2021.
China dominates deployment…others should now follow
While renewable energy deployment has been increasing around the world, the distribution remains uneven, notes the UN report.
As shown in the chart, of the 4,448GW of total renewable capacity installed globally as of the end of 2024, 41% was in China, 39% in OECD countries and almost half of the remaining 20% in Brazil and India.
Africa made up just 1.5% of the capacity installed by the end of last year, despite accounting for 85% of the global population without electricity access and having a renewable energy resource potential 10 times larger than the continent’s projected electricity demand in 2040.
Since 2016, outside of China, less than one in every five dollars invested in clean energy has gone to emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), explains the UN report.
Investment is hampered in part by higher costs in EMDEs – for example, the cost of capital for a large-scale solar PV project in one of these economies is well over twice as high as in advanced economies, adds the UN report.
To keep the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C goal within reach, annual clean-energy spending in EMDEs beyond China will need to increase by around five to seven times from 2022 levels, notes the UN report. This would see investment increase to $1.4-1.9tn a year in 2030 and to more than $2tn a year by 2035.
‘Faster and fairer’ for 1.5C
The UN and IRENA reports, along with Gueterres’ speech, highlight that, while progress in transitioning the energy sector away from fossil fuels is underway, “the transition is not yet fast enough or fair enough”.
Since the Paris Agreement came into force almost a decade ago, the collective ratcheting up of global climate ambition and action has meant that “projected global warming has been progressively declining”, the report notes.
It points to the UNEP emissions gap report, which found that warming this century under current policies have fallen from just below 4C to 3.1C. If parties’ conditional climate pledges – known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – are fully implemented, warming could fall from 3-3.5C to 2.6C.
This would be lower still, falling to 1.9C, if all net-zero pledges are fully achieved, the UN report notes.
As such, parties need to do more to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the “dawn of a new energy era”, Guterres said, as the “fossil-fuel age is flailing and failing”.
He set out six “opportunity areas”, which include NDCs, meeting surging energy demand with sustainable sources and using trade and investment to “supercharge” the energy transition.
The UN report highlights that at COP28 in Dubai, parties agreed to global targets to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, double the annual rate of energy efficiency improvement and transition away from fossil fuels in line with global net-zero emissions by 2050.
In his speech, Guterres said “we must drastically speed up the reduction of emissions – and the reach of the clean-energy transition” to reach these goals as the “1.5C limit is in unprecedented peril”.
The impact of current plans and policies, in comparison to those needed to align with 1.5C, is shown in the chart below.
In his statement, La Camera welcomed the surge in renewables to date, but added:
“Progress is not guaranteed. Rising geopolitical tensions, trade tariffs and material supply constraints threaten to slow the momentum and drive up costs. To safeguard the gains of the energy transition, we must reinforce international cooperation, secure open and resilient supply chains, and create stable policy and investment frameworks – especially in the global south. The transition to renewables is irreversible, but its pace and fairness depend on the choices we make today.”
The post UN: Five reasons why switching to renewables is ‘smart economics’ appeared first on Carbon Brief.
UN: Five reasons why switching to renewables is ‘smart economics’
The US is expected to resume its attempt to sink measures for a greener global shipping sector at closed-door talks between governments at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in early September.
The US and oil-producing allies like Saudi Arabia want to weaken a proposed plan for cleaner fuels that aims to reduce planet-heating emissions from the industry, which relies heavily on dirty bunker fuels. Shipping currently represents 3% of global emissions.
Those that want a softer system are likely to back a Liberian proposal which expert analysis suggests would see emissions fall by only half at most by 2050, far short of the sector’s agreed climate goals.
After several years of debate, governments provisionally agreed in April 2025 on the “Net Zero Framework” (NZF), a series of emissions reduction targets for shipowners, backed up with financial rewards for meeting the targets and fees for missing them.
But in October 2025, after a high-profile intervention from US President Donald Trump and threats of sanctions and visa restrictions, the US convinced a majority of voting nations to postpone the adoption of the NZF for a year.
Ralph Regenvanu, climate minister for the Pacific nation of Vanuatu, called the delay “unacceptable” given the urgency of accelerating climate change.
After a round of low-profile talks in May, the first of three further sets of talks on how to clean up shipping will begin at the IMO’s riverside headquarters in London on Tuesday, culminating in a final public session in November.
Em Fenton, who follows the talks as senior director of climate diplomacy at Opportunity Green, an NGO focused on aviation and shipping, said governments should not be sidetracked by alternative proposals to the NZF, calling them “a distraction from a hard-fought multilateral compromise”.
“If countries want to deliver a just and fair maritime transition, there is really only one choice: back the NZF and stand together in solidarity against those who would tear it apart,” Fenton added.
Five proposals on the table
Governments will discuss five different proposals submitted in advance of next week’s meeting. The most ambitious of these is from the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, which has proposed a levy on the entirety of a ship’s emissions rather than just those above a certain level, as the NZF envisions.
That had been the original demand of Pacific nations before the NZF was provisionally adopted in April 2025. At the time, Tuvalu’s transport minister Simon Kofe described the NZF as disappointing and not ambitious enough.
For this reason, six Pacific countries abstained in the vote on the NZF. While they supported the original plan for its adoption in October 2025, they have used the delay to push again for more ambition.
John Kautoke, advisor to a group of Pacific nations called 6PAC+, told Climate Home News that the NZF “cannot diminish its already inadequate ambition. If anything, the NZF must increase in ambition if we are going to renegotiate its parameters.”
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Analysis by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) suggests that, of the five proposals, only Tuvalu’s would meet the 2030 and 2040 emissions reduction targets for global shipping that were agreed by governments in 2023. Those were for cuts of 20% between 2008 and 2030, 70% by 2040 and then reaching net zero “by or around, i.e. close to 2050”.
Despite this, the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa have formally proposed that governments adopt the NZF, which won support in a 63-13 vote among governments at the April 2025 talks. Trump’s US walked out halfway through.
According to IMarEst’s analysis, while the NZF proposal will not be enough to meet the industry’s targets, it will reduce emissions more cheaply than the Pacific proposal.
A proposal by Brazil – which fought hard for the NZF last October – suggests tweaking the framework to make meeting targets easier in the short term and harder in the long term.
While this compromise will make it more appealing to the owners of polluting ships and countries that support them, IMarEst estimates it would lead to higher cumulative emissions than either the NZF or Pacific proposals.
The NZF stipulates that fees for high-polluting shipowners should be be put into a Net Zero Fund and used to promote clean shipping fuels and a fairer transition. The Brazilian proposal would delay raising and spending these funds by two years, from 2029 to 2031.
Liberia’s proposal weakens emissions cuts
The US and Saudi Arabia are likely to swing behind a new proposal from Liberia, whose government makes millions of dollars a year selling the right for shipowners to register their vessels in the small West African nation via a US-based company.
This proposal would weaken the emissions reduction targets. IMarEst says it would cut the industry’s emissions at most by a half by 2050, falling far short of the target agreed in 2023 for international shipping to reach net zero “close to 2050”.
It would also replace the NZF’s fees for missing targets with a carbon trading system. As a result, there would be no Net Zero Fund and therefore less money available to incentivise green fuels and make the transition more equitable for poorer nations.
Pacific advisor Kautoke said that, as well as preventing shipping from reaching zero emissions by 2050, Liberia’s proposal would mean the Pacific “will not receive any support to deal with the disproportionately negative impacts created by the cost of the transition”.
“We get a double blow if we adopt the Liberian proposal,” he warned. “We get all the cost of a transition without any support, and we have an industry that continues to burn fossil fuels to an unforeseen point.”
Japanese proposal favours shipowners
Japan has submitted a late proposal to amend the NZF so that shipowners have more control over how the fees they would pay for emitting above a set threshold are spent.
University College London professor Tristan Smith has argued that this change means there will be no central mechanism to incentivise investments in clean fuels. He wrote on LinkedIn that under the system put forward by Japan, shipowners would be able to select which green projects their fees would go to. They could choose their own or those of a sister company or other shipowners, rather than funding broader just transition projects that would benefit marine workers or developing countries hit by rising shipping costs.
Despite its flaws, Smith added that Japan’s proposal “could still get taken seriously by some, given how appealing it may seem to shipowners who have consistently demanded control of revenues, and given how the US and other member states have pushed back against the IMO Net Zero Fund and [greenhouse gas] pricing.”
Tacit or explicit approval?
Next week, governments are expected to make statements saying which proposals – or which aspects of proposals – they prefer. Another set of talks will be held from November 23-27 before a potentially final round from November 30-December 4.
A new framework to tackle shipping emissions could be adopted at those talks if two-thirds of countries that are present and signed up to a regulation called Marpol Annex VI – endorsed by just over 100 states – vote in favour of it, as they did in April 2025.
The US and its allies are also trying to change the rules to make the next stage more difficult. Decisions that have been adopted at IMO meetings usually take effect automatically unless a certain number of countries object within a certain time period decided by governments, a system known as tacit approval.
But the US wants that to require explicit approval instead, so that any new emissions standard would not come into force unless enough governments – representing a certain percentage of the world’s shipping fleet – actively indicate support for it.
Critics say this change would give a small number of countries with large shipping registries the power to block implementation. Liberia has the world’s biggest shipping registry, run by an American company, followed by Panama and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Liberia and Panama have supported the US at the talks on the Net Zero Framework. The Marshall Islands has long been one of the most vocal supporters of climate action in shipping but, with its officials and shipping registry income vulnerable to US retaliation, did not sign on to the recent Pacific proposal vowing to strengthen the NZF if it is re-opened.
Brazilian negotiator Adriana de Medeiros Gabinio warned in April that the NZF’s opponents are trying to change the rules by which it comes into force as a “safety net to block” it.
The post Battle over cleaning up shipping set to resume at London talks appeared first on Climate Home News.
Battle over cleaning up shipping set to resume at London talks
SYDNEY, Wednesday 26 August 2026 — New 2026 Sustainability Reports released by supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths this week demonstrate the retailers are failing on their commitments to end deforestation in their supply chains.
Adele Chasson, Nature Policy Lead at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said:
“These so-called sustainability reports are revealing. Despite their public commitments in 2024 and 2025, neither Coles nor Woolworths have taken deforestation-linked beef off their shelves. Meanwhile, bulldozers continue to tear up forests and bushland, pushing wildlife closer to extinction and causing mass toxic runoff to flow into the Great Barrier Reef. Millions of native animals like koalas are losing their homes to beef pastures each year, while the big supermarkets put off action.
“Australians would be shocked to know that beef on the shelves of our biggest supermarkets could be pushing threatened species to the brink of extinction. Collectively Coles and Woolworths have made more than $2 billion in profits in the last year, profiting from the destruction of wildlife and precious Australian nature. Coles and Woolworths owe it to shoppers to deliver on their promises and end deforestation in their supply chains now.
“As big beef buyers, Coles and Woolworths have an essential role to play in keeping Australia’s unique forests standing. They can help stop the Great Barrier Reef from being poisoned by runoff and protect iconic forest wildlife by taking deforestation off their shelves. It’s time these big companies put their money where their mouths are and follow through on their promise of sourcing and supplying deforestation-free beef.”
New Zealand’s parliament has adopted a controversial new law blocking a whole avenue of climate litigation and shutting down its most advanced corporate lawsuit, which has been blamed by the government for shaking business confidence and investment.
The Climate Change Response (Tort Liability) Amendment Bill, expected to take effect in the coming days after it is formally signed by the Governor-General, prevents all current and future civil claims for climate loss or harm under tort law.
Justice minister Paul Goldsmith said last week that the aim was to give businesses “certainty around their climate change obligations”, noting it would not alter the government’s responsibilities under the Climate Change Response Act 2002 nor business obligations under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
“Our response to climate change is best managed by the Government at a national level and not through piece-meal litigation in the courts,” he added in a statement.
Such litigation, he said, “risks developing a new regime that contradicts the framework Parliament has already enacted” to tackle climate change.
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Goldsmith singled out a key domestic climate lawsuit brought by Northland iwi leader and activist Mike Smith against six big companies: dairy firms Fonterra and Dairy Holdings, energy firms Genesis Energy and Z Energy, New Zealand Steel and coal mining firm BT Mining. A seventh original defendant, Channel Infrastructure, was dropped after it permanently decommissioned its Marsden Point oil refinery.
Smith argued that these companies had caused him harm under public nuisance and negligence law, as well as a third breach of a duty to cease contributing to climate change that has yet to be tested domestically. He did not seek financial compensation, instead asking for the companies to immediately stop emitting or contributing to net greenhouse gas emissions.
In one of the most advanced corporate climate accountability lawsuits in the world, a trial had been scheduled for April 2027 after the Supreme Court unanimously allowed the case to continue.
Corporate lobbying in the shadows
Smith described the passing of the bill as “deeply concerning”, particularly as it coincided with the Supreme Court hearing another of his climate lawsuits. In that case, Smith v Attorney-General, he argues that the government’s response to climate change and its impacts on Māori communities in particular breaches rights to life and culture.
“That timing raises profound questions about the separation of powers and the rule of law,” said Smith. “Whatever one’s view of the merits of these cases, it is deeply troubling when parliament intervenes to remove a legal pathway while the courts are actively considering fundamental questions about climate responsibility, rights and the crown’s obligations.”
The bill – which says that no person (including the government) can be found liable in tort for emissions-related climate change effects – followed major lobbying efforts by the companies defending themselves in Smith’s lawsuit. They outlined a proposed legal amendment in a briefing note to the government in 2024.
The centre-right government has been fiercely criticised over its lack of transparency in relation to this lobbying activity. The national ombudsman recently found that the Prime Minister’s Office effectively withheld information requested by the Environmental Law Initiative about meetings, discussions and conversations regarding Smith’s case.
Green groups fail to stop bill
The bill sparked huge concern among environmental campaigners in New Zealand and elsewhere. Greenpeace Aotearoa called it a “shocking abuse of executive power” and the vast majority of submissions to a parliamentary inquiry said it should be rejected.
But in the end, it was adopted with little resistance, moving relatively smoothly through parliament, passing its third reading by 67 votes to 53. Sam Bookman, climate law lecturer at Melbourne Law School, told Climate Home News he was not surprised by this, given that the coalition government has a secure majority.
A complaint has been made to the UN special rapporteur on climate change and human rights by Smith, the National Iwi Chairs Forum Pou Tikanga and youth coalition Climate Clinic Aotearoa over what they see as the government’s heavy-handed approach. Smith is also challenging the new law in yet another lawsuit.
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Bookman thinks it “very unlikely” that such a challenge will succeed, noting that New Zealand’s constitution is firmly anchored in parliamentary sovereignty.
But the expert in climate law does not see the bill as the end of legal action in the country, noting that New Zealand has a “sophisticated climate litigation landscape with a growing number of specialist and experienced lawyers and NGOs”.
The country is also approaching its next general election in November, and some opposition parties have pledged to restore access to the courts if elected.
Amanda Larsson, global project lead on agriculture for Greenpeace International, said: “This law deserves to be tested, and I strongly encourage the international climate litigation community to unite and help defend New Zealanders’ fundamental right to hold polluters accountable before this becomes a global blueprint.”
Copycat legislation on the rise
New Zealand’s move is part of a small but growing legislative effort to shut down climate litigation around the world.
In the US, Republican politicians introduced legislation in the House and Senate in April that would shield fossil fuel firms from climate liability lawsuits. Similar laws have already been passed at state level in Tennessee, Utah, Iowa and Louisiana.
The German state of Bavaria has put forward a similar proposal to the Federal Council, aiming to block private climate claims as well as the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments imposing such liability. There are also proposals to limit available remedies and actions in the Netherlands and Belgium.
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Bookman said he expects more efforts to counter climate damages litigation and advised plaintiffs to think about how to respond, including drawing on broader support in opposing them.
“Even though it’s very hard for plaintiffs to win these types of cases, companies are very eager to avoid the expense, embarrassment and political accountability that come even with unsuccessful lawsuits,” he said.
The post New Zealand moves to protect business with law curtailing climate litigation appeared first on Climate Home News.
New Zealand moves to protect business with law curtailing climate litigation
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