In 1919, when global electricity demand was nearly 300 times smaller than in 2025, renewables, at the time overwhelmingly hydropower, briefly exceeded coal power. For over 100 years since then, coal power has remained the largest source. Its share stayed consistently around or just below 40 per cent of the global power mix from the 1970s to the mid 2010s.
Combined with a fall in the share of gas (down to 21.8 per cent in 2025 from 23.9 per cent in 2020) and other fossil fuels in the global electricity mix, emissions intensity — the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced per unit of electricity — also declined. In 2025, the average kilowatt hour produced globally resulted in emissions of 458 gCO2e, 2.7 per cent less than in 2024 (471 gCO2e) and down 16 per cent from two decades ago in 2005 (543 gCO2e).
Solar and wind drive era of clean growth
The transition was powered overwhelmingly by solar and wind energy. Global solar generation rose by 636 TWh in 2025, a 30 per cent increase over the previous year and the fastest growth rate in eight years. Since 2015, solar output has grown more than tenfold, roughly doubling every three years, and is now comparable to the total electricity demand of the EU-27.
Wind power also registered strong growth, reinforcing the rapid scale-up of variable renewables worldwide.
Solar alone met 75 per cent of the increase in global electricity demand, while together with wind it accounted for 99 per cent of demand growth, underscoring the dominance of these sources in the current phase of the transition.
“We have firmly entered the era of clean growth,” said Aditya Lolla, managing director at Ember. “Clean energy is now scaling fast enough to absorb rising global electricity demand, keeping fossil generation flat before its inevitable decline.”
China led the surge in both solar and wind, contributing more than half of the global increase in solar capacity and generation in 2025, alongside significant additions in wind power.
China, India central to fossil decline
Asia is now the only region where coal still exceeds renewables, accounting for 52 per cent of generation versus 32 per cent for renewables in 2025, and making up 82 per cent of global coal generation though its share has been steadily declining as renewables expand.
The report highlights that the global shift away from fossil fuels was driven largely by developments in China and India, the two largest contributors to fossil power growth over the past two decades.
In China, fossil generation fell by 56 TWh as clean energy expansion met all demand growth. In India, fossil generation declined by 52 TWh (-3.3 per cent), supported by record increases in solar and wind generation, strong hydropower output and relatively moderate demand growth.
In Europe, coal’s share fell from 25 per cent in 2005 to 13 per cent in 2025, and to just 9.2 per cent in the EU-27, with renewables exceeding coal since 2013. North America saw coal drop from 45 per cent to 15 per cent over the same period, largely replaced by renewables and gas. In Oceania, coal’s share declined from 67 per cent to 36 per cent, with renewables overtaking it in 2023 and reaching 45 per cent in 2025.
In Africa, coal’s share nearly halved from 45 per cent to 24 per cent, with renewables surpassing it in 2025. Coal remains marginal in Latin America (4 per cent) and the Middle East (0.3 per cent).
This marked the first time this century that fossil generation declined simultaneously in both countries, helping tip the global balance in favour of renewables. Globally, coal generation fell by 63 TWh, dropping below one-third of total electricity generation for the first time.
Hydro flat globally despite regional swings
Despite the rapid growth in solar and wind, hydropower remained largely unchanged globally, increasing by just 3 TWh (+0.1 per cent) in 2025 compared to 2024.
This stability masked sharp regional variations. Hydro output increased most in China (+45 TWh), while drove a 21 TWh rise in India. However, these gains were offset by significant declines in Brazil (-25 TWh), Türkiye (-17 TWh) and the European Union (-43 TWh), particularly in alpine regions such as Italy, France and Switzerland that saw lower precipitation after strong hydro conditions in 2024.
The data highlights hydro’s continued dependence on weather patterns even as it remains the largest source of flexible, low-carbon electricity.
India last month cleared a new Small Hydro Power (SHP) Development Scheme for FY27-FY31, allocating Rs 2,584.6 crore (about $310 million) to support 1.5 GW of capacity across projects ranging from 1 MW to 25 MW, with a focus on hilly and north-eastern states where untapped potential remains.
The move marks a renewed push after earlier policy support waned. An exclusive small hydropower policy introduced in 2009, revised in 2014 to include Central Financial Assistance and attract private investment, was discontinued in 2017 due to budget constraints, project delays and a policy shift toward cheaper solar and wind energy.
