Renewable energy outpaces coal for electricity generation in historic first, report says
For the first time, renewable energy has overtaken coal as the primary source of electricity around the world, a new report says, indicating a shift in the global reliance on environmentally harmful fossil fuels.
Renewable electricity use rose to 34.3% of global consumption in the first half of 2025, while coal’s use fell to 33.1%, the energy think tank Ember found. Renewable energies include sources like solar, wind and hydro, as opposed to fossil fuels like coal and natural gas.
Populous developing countries like China and India led the charge in making the switch to renewable energies, Ember reports. Meanwhile, Western societies including the European Union and the United States increased their consumption of coal during this period.
Nevertheless, global coal generation fell 0.6% in the first half compared to the same period a year earlier.
“I think that most economies want to expand their clean electricity, but some are more strategic and seizing on the opportunity than others,” said Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, a senior electricity analyst at Ember.
Wiatros-Motyka said China has been particularly clever in decreasing its reliance on fossil fuels. She noted that such a shift gives countries more autonomy since they can reduce their dependence on energy imports from other nations.
“There has been more investment in infrastructure that facilitates clean growth [in emerging economies] than in many advanced economies,” she said. “This is probably about some countries missing the opportunities, and maybe they don’t realize it, but that’s what it is.”