The world added around 2,600 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity between 2015 and 2024, including a record 582 GW in 2024 alone.

Momentum, driven primarily by solar, remains strong. By 2030, renewables are expected to supply around half of global electricity. The world is building clean power at record speed, and is still burning more fossil fuels than ever.

In 2015, coal generation stood at around 9,300 terawatt-hours (TWh). By 2024, it had risen by roughly 1,300 TWh. Gas generation increased from around 5,500 TWh to nearly 6,800 TWh over the same period. Combined, coal and gas generation grew from around 14,800 TWh to more than 17,000 TWh. In short, the world is generating more electricity from fossil fuels today than it did a decade ago.

This is not because renewables have failed. It is because electricity demand has grown even faster, driven by urbanization, cooling needs, digitalization, industrial electrification, the rise of electric vehicles and more recently, data centers and artificial intelligence.

For the first time, global electricity demand surpassed 30,000 TWh in 2024. That increase of more than 1,100 TWh, or 4.3 percent, was almost double the annual average over the previous decade. Surging demand meant renewable additions expanded supply rather than substituted coal and gas.

With global electricity demand set to surpass 33,000 TWh this year, even rapid renewable growth will struggle to displace fossil fuel energy in any significant way.