A decade after the landmark Paris Agreement, renewable energy has surpassed coal to become the world’s leading source of electricity.

According to the climate think tank Ember, which draws on data from 88 countries representing 93% of global energy consumption, solar and wind growth outpaced rising electricity demand for the first time on record.

Solar expansion in particular drove the surge in renewables. Over the past 50 years, the cost of solar has dropped by 99.9%, allowing countries with costly or unreliable grid electricity to develop large-scale solar projects within a single year. In the first half of 2025, solar output rose nearly a third compared with the same period last year, meeting 83% of the increase in electricity demand. Overall, renewables (including hydro, bioenergy, and others) accounted for 34.3% of global electricity generation, while coal—which remains the world’s largest individual source of energy—fell to 33.1%.

Ember’s findings came with a clear message for the West, too: it was developing countries like China and India that were primarily responsible for the surge in renewables. China, especially, emerged as the clear frontrunner: clean generation outpaced its 4.2% demand growth, leading to a 2% drop in its use of fossil fuels. India, although it experienced slower electricity demand growth of just 1.3%, also added significant solar and wind capacity, leading to a 3.6% decline in fossil fuel use.

In contrast, the US and the EU saw their fossil fuel generation rise. In the US, clean sources did not keep pace with robust demand growth. Exacerbated by a gas-to-coal switch driven by higher gas prices, fossil fuels filled this gap, increasing emissions by 4.3%. Similarly, in the EU, despite strong solar growth, poor wind conditions led to significant shortfalls in wind output, and severe droughts also contributed to a decline in hydropower production. The bloc compensated by increasing gas and coal generation, leading to a 4.8% climb. The divide is expected to widen, particularly in the US, where clean energy subsidies were rolled back. Meanwhile, solar and wind, Embers notes, keep driving modernization and growth in both low-income countries and some of the world’s most powerful emerging economies.