Climate News

Renewables overtake coal as fossil power falls for the first time outside a crisis, Ember finds

Renewables generated more of the world's electricity than coal in 2025, according to the think tank Ember's Global Electricity Review 2026, published on 21 April. Germany's CleanThinking reported that renewables supplied 33.8% of global power (10,730 TWh) against coal's 33.0% (10,476 TWh), calling it the first time in about 100 years. Coal output fell 0.6%, its first decline since 2020.

The driver was solar. Trade site PV Tech led on Ember's finding that solar generation rose by 636 TWh in 2025, the largest increase of any power source on record, and met about three-quarters of new power demand. Carbon Brief said wind added another 205 TWh, while demand rose 2.8%, so fossil-fuel generation fell 0.2%. It stressed that earlier falls in fossil power came from economic crises or one-off shocks, while this one came from clean power growth itself. Fossil generation dropped in both China and India in the same year, a first this century.

How each outlet framed it

• Carbon Brief — a structural turning point: fossil power reversing without a crisis, plus cheaper batteries and EVs cutting oil demand.
• PV Tech — solar's record year and its share of new demand.
• CleanThinking — the energy-security angle: solar's 2025 growth was roughly equal to gas power from all LNG shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.

Where the numbers differ: "overtaking coal" means all renewables together. Carbon Brief noted that coal is still the largest single source of electricity, and that Asia is the only region where renewables have not yet passed coal.

What we don't know yet: whether the trend holds in 2026.