Clean Energy Triumphs: World Reaches a Historic Climate Turning Point as Fossil Fuel Growth Halts in 2025 00

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The world has reached a monumental milestone in the clean energy transition: for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, no growth in fossil fuel generation is expected for the full year of 2025. This historic turning point is driven entirely by the explosive growth of clean power, which grew fast enough to meet—and even exceed—the world's rising electricity demand in the first three quarters of the year.

According to a new analysis by energy think tank Ember, detailed in its Q3 Global Power Report, this milestone is set to occur even as global electricity demand is projected to see a substantial increase—the sixth largest absolute increase on record at 831 TWh. The link between rising demand and rising fossil generation is finally being severed.

Solar and Wind Exceed All New Demand

The dramatic shift is thanks to record-breaking growth in solar power, combined with a moderate increase in wind generation.

Solar generation rose by an unprecedented 498 TWh (+31%) in the first three quarters of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, the largest increase ever over a nine-month period. This massive surge means solar output in Q1-Q3 2025 has already surpassed its total output for all of 2024.

Wind generation added an additional 137 TWh (+7.6%).

The combined growth from solar and wind was 635 TWh, which successfully outpaced the global rise in electricity demand of 603 TWh (+2.7%) for the first three quarters of 2025.

Despite a fall in hydropower generation of -54 TWh and a minor increase in nuclear generation (+33 TWh) , the rapid deployment of clean power was enough to keep fossil generation flat, resulting in a minor fall of -17 TWh (-0.1%) in the first three quarters of 2025.

"Record solar power growth and stagnating fossil fuels in 2025 show how clean power has become the driving force in the power sector," stated Nicolas Fulghum, Senior Data Analyst at Ember. "Historically a growth segment, fossil power now appears to be entering a period of stagnation and managed decline".

The Global Balance Tips: China and India Lead the Decline

The global stagnation of fossil fuels was tipped into reality by significant declines in China and India, which managed to balance out smaller fossil increases in the EU and US.

Country Change in Fossil Generation (Q1-Q3 2025 vs. 2024) Key Driver of Change

China

-52 TWh (-1.1%) 

Structural decline; fast-growing renewables (including a 44% year-on-year solar growth) met all new demand.

India

-34 TWh (-3.3%) 

Temporary decline; record solar and wind growth combined with unusually mild weather conditions that substantially reduced demand for cooling.

China's contribution to clean power growth was massive, making up more than half of the Q1-Q3 solar growth at 280 TWh. The US and the EU followed with a growth of 71 TWh (+30%) and 52 TWh (+20%), respectively.

The Next Challenge: Sustained Decline

This moment marks a definitive structural shift where clean energy sources are proving they can meet and exceed the accelerating pace of global electricity demand.

For the first time outside of disruptive events like the Global Financial Crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic—years which saw low or no electricity demand growth—clean power has not only kept pace but surpassed demand growth. The share of solar and wind in the global electricity mix rose from 15.2% in Q1-Q3 2024 to 17.6% in Q1-Q3 2025, and all low-carbon sources combined achieved a 43.0% share.

The report concludes that the new challenge is to sustain this growth in 2026 and beyond, which is necessary not only to meet continued strong electricity demand but also to drive fossil generation down from its current levels. This unprecedented stagnation in 2025 is a powerful sign that the world is on the cusp of an accelerated energy transition.

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