Global renewable energy installations reached an all-time high last year, with 92.5% of newly added electricity generated from solar, wind or other clean energy sources, an international agency reported on Wednesday.

Yet, progress is still falling short of the 2030 renewable capacity target.

Nearly 64% of the new renewable electricity generated in 2024 was in China, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said.

Overall, the world added 585 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable electrical energy, marking record annual growth of 15.1% compared to 2023, with 46% of the world’s electricity coming from solar, wind and other green non-nuclear energy sources.

That lifted total renewables capacity to 4,448 GW.

But even that big jump does not put the globe on track to reach the 11.2 terawatts (TW) needed to meet the Paris climate agreement and the international goal of tripling renewable energy from 2023 to 2030, with the world on pace to be 28% short, IRENA calculated.

“We also face the same challenges of great regional disparities and the ticking clock, as the 2030 deadline is imminent,” said IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera.

The goal was adopted in 2023 as part of the world’s efforts to curb the increasing impacts of climate change and transition away from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.

“Renewable energy is powering down the fossil fuel age. Record-breaking growth is creating jobs, lowering energy bills and cleaning our air,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. “But the shift to clean energy must be faster and fairer.”

China added almost 374 GW of renewable power – three-quarters of it from solar panels – in 2024. That’s more than eight times as much as the United States did and five times what Europe added last year.

The Group of Seven of the world’s most advanced and industrialized economies accounted for 14.3% while Central America and the Caribbean contributed the least at only 3.2%.

China now has nearly 887 GW of solar panel power, compared to 176 GW in the United States, nearly 90 GW in Germany, 21 GW in France and more than 17 GW in the United Kingdom.

Solar and wind energy remained the fastest-growing renewables, together accounting for 96.6% of all net renewable additions in 2024.

United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell used the figures Wednesday to challenge Europe and other industrialized nations to catch up with China.

“As one government steps back from climate leadership, it opens up space for others to step forward and seize the vast benefits,” Stiell told European leaders in Berlin, making reference to U.S. President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.

“The clean energy transition can be Europe’s economic engine-room now – when new sources of growth are vital to buttress living standards and for decades to come.”

Stiell said the IRENA numbers show that the “global renewables boom is unstoppable” and said the market for green energy reached $2 trillion last year.

The move to renewables can grow even faster, said Neil Grant, senior policy analyst at Climate Analytics, which tracks and projects countries’ climate change fighting efforts.

“If in 2024 renewables grew 15%, think how much faster they could grow with the full backing of comprehensive, credible and ambitious climate policies around the world,” said Grant, who wasn’t part of the IRENA report.