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- A progress paradox: Clean electricity is growing more than twice the speed of overall energy supply, but emissions are not yet falling as overall demand for both fossil and clean energy is simultaneously expanding – driven by data centres, higher cooling needs and heavy industry.
- A two-speed transition: ~60% of global emissions – primarily from power generation and road transport – are rapidly being addressed by clean electrification at little or no extra cost. Progress is slower in the remaining 40% of emissions – from aviation, shipping, heavy industry and agriculture – which require solutions that carry a green cost premium or are at early-stages of commercial scale.
- Four levers remain largely unaddressed: coal use, methane emissions, deforestation, and slow scale up of carbon removals.
LONDON, Sept. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Global clean energy investment hit a record $2.1 trillion in 2025. Solar, batteries and electric vehicles again outperformed every forecast. But rising energy demand means global greenhouse gas emissions are only plateauing, not falling. The world has already breached 1.5°C of global heating and remains on track for around 2.5°C, according to the Energy Transitions Commission’s (ETC) Energy Transition Monitor 2026, published today.
As wildfires and intense heatwaves cause widespread economic and human damage and energy security costs mount since the Hormuz closure, demand for clean alternatives to volatile fossil fuels has grown. The annual assessment from the ETC Secretariat — representing a global coalition of energy, industry and finance leaders – finds that renewables supplied 99% of the growth in global electricity generation in 2025, while coal-fired and oil-fired generation both contracted. Global renewable capacity has almost doubled since 2022 and is on track to double again by 2030 — around 900 GW short of the tripling pledged at COP28.
But clean power is chasing a moving target: because electricity remains only a fifth of total final energy use, this growth in clean electricity covered just 40% of the rise in global energy demand, with fossil fuels supplying the rest, as demand from buildings, heavy industry and long-distance transport kept rising.
Clean technologies must be deployed faster to meet this growing demand. The report also identifies four other key levers for global emissions reductions that remain largely unaddressed: coal use, methane emissions, deforestation, and scale up of carbon removals.
The report describes a two-speed transition. Around 60% of global emissions could be abated through clean electrification alone at little or no extra cost — primarily in power generation and road transport, where electrification is already accelerating.
But barriers remain. Grid capacity is a major bottleneck to this acceleration: around 375 GW of renewables and 455 GW of battery storage are stuck in European connection and permitting queues, roughly 2,300 GW await grid connection in the United States, and nearly 10% of China’s wind and solar outputs were curtailed due to grid constraints in the first half of 2026. Supporting low-cost renewables through long-term contracts can also accelerate electrification.
The remaining 40% of global emissions, from high-temperature industrial heat, aviation, shipping and parts of agriculture, requires solutions that carry a green cost premium or are at early-stages of commercial scale. Of roughly 1,000 clean industrial projects announced globally, fewer than 20% have reached a final investment decision. Carbon pricing is strengthening, making clean projects more financially viable, but firm offtake commitments are still a major gap.
“Clean energy is now outpacing fossil growth, but deployment speed alone won’t cut emissions. Without removing grid bottlenecks, securing buyer commitments for clean industrial products, and achieving cost breakthroughs in shipping and aviation, emissions will continue to plateau and not fall.” said Adair Turner, Co-Chair, ETC.
“Coal is not phasing down, methane emissions are not falling, forests are still being cut down, and carbon removal is nowhere near the scale required. We must act to address these. Only by doing this can we stop the rapid heating of the planet, and we are seeing the effects of this in real time.” said Jules Kortenhorst, Co-Chair, ETC.
“The Energy Transition Monitor makes clear that the challenge is no longer whether clean energy technologies can scale, but whether we can deploy them fast enough to meet growing demand and reduce emissions simultaneously. As electricity demand accelerates, we have all the resources available to design energy solutions that pair abundant clean power with efficiency, flexibility, and modernized grids. The report points out solutions to unlock permitting and connection barriers to access resources at the scale of the opportunity. By combining clean electrification with smarter energy use, we can strengthen energy security and accelerate emissions reductions while still supporting economic growth.” said Jon Creyts, CEO, RMI, a member of the Energy Transitions Commission.
The picture varies sharply by region:
- China: Building clean electrification faster than anywhere on earth.
- Supplies 83% of the world’s renewable-energy equipment, 45% of clean industrial plant equipment.
- Installs more than half the world’s wind and solar. In 2025, 56% of new passenger vehicle sales were EVs, and 13 of 19 global clean heavy-industry investment decisions were made in China in first half of 2026.
- United States: Federal action stops the transition accelerating but doesn’t stop it entirely.
- Since January 2025, 21 GW of clean energy was cancelled. Fossil capacity additions surged 71% in 2025-2026. Yet renewable growth slowed by only 2%.
- Data centres present the sharpest contradiction: accounting for half of all new clean energy contracts, while simultaneously driving the largest increase in new fossil fuel power capacity.
- EU and UK: Fastest emissions reduction progress of the major economies, though momentum has recently slowed.
- Renewable installations are strong and around 1 in 5 new passenger cars purchased are EVs. The European Commission’s electrification action plan targets a step change in the pace of deployment.
- Around 375 GW of renewables and 455 GW of battery storage are stuck in permitting and grid-connection queues.
- India: The world’s cheapest renewables but installs 9 times slower than China.
- Fastest electricity demand growth for a major economy at 6.4% a year, but new clean capacity is being absorbed by rising demand rather than displacing coal.
- Asia (excluding China & India) & Australia: Renewables contributed 62% of new power capacity in 2024, but progress across the region is uneven.
- High fossil fuel prices caused by the Hormuz strait closure has pulled the need for energy security and clean energy forward in the region. Countries including South Korea and Indonesia accelerated their renewables targets.
About the Energy Transitions Commission (ETC)
The Energy Transitions Commission is a global coalition of leaders from across the energy landscape committed to achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century while supporting economic growth and development. This report was produced by the ETC Secretariat and should not be taken as members agreeing with every finding or recommendation. The ETC is hosted by SYSTEMIQ Ltd.
All data in this release is pulled from the Energy Transition Monitor 2026 which can be downloaded here: https://www.energy-transitions.org/publications/energy-transition-monitor-2026
Energy Transition Monitor 2026 Infographic
