Associated Press science writer Seth Borenstein
NEW YORK (AP) – The global switch to renewables has passed a “positive turning point” that has become even cheaper and more popular, according to two UN reports released Tuesday.
Last year, 74% of the electricity growth generated worldwide came from wind, sun and other green sources, according to a UN multi-agency report called Seizing the moment of opportunity. It turns out that 92.5% of all new power capacity added to grids around the world during that period came from renewable energy. Meanwhile, sales of electric vehicles have increased from 500,000 in 2015 to over 17 million in 2024.
Last year, the three cheapest sources of electricity in the world were onshore wind, solar panels and new hydropower, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Solar power is currently 41% cheaper, while wind power is 53% cheaper worldwide than the lowest-cost fossil fuels, the report says. Fossil fuels that are the main causes of climate change include coal, oil and natural gas.
“The age of fossil fuels is on fire and failing,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a speech Tuesday morning, which stated that he published the report. “We are at the dawn of a new energy age, an era in which cheap, clean and abundant energy will strengthen our rich world with economic opportunities.”
“Follow the money,” Guterres said. It’s about $800 billion more than fossil fuels, citing a report last year that showed investments in green energy were $2 trillion.
UN officials say the switch to renewable energy needs to be speeded up
Still, UN officials said the switch to renewable energy hasn’t happened fast enough, compared to 10 years ago.
The world’s renewable energy growth is primarily developed countries such as China, with one-tenth of its economy bound by green energy – and countries such as India and Brazil.
However, Africa represents less than 2% of the new green energy capacity installed last year despite a major electrification needs, the report says. UN officials have condemned the high cost of capital for the Global South.
“The Global South must be empowered to generate its own electricity without adding any already unsustainable levels of debt,” said Adel Thomas, Bahamian climate scientist at the Council on Natural Resources Defense. Thomas, who was not working on the report, added that he would expose the myth that clean energy cannot compete with fossil fuels.
University of Michigan Environment Dean Jonathan Oberpeck also said he was not part of the research. He said the economic turning point will lead to a cycle in which the power of fossil fuels will remain promoted and the power of fossil fuels is increasingly undesirable.
Renewables grow despite high subsidies for fossil fuels
And despite fossil fuels earning nearly nine times the government’s consumption subsidies, renewables are booming, Guterres and the report said. In 2023, global fossil fuel subsidies reached $620 billion, compared to $70 billion in renewable energy, the UN report said.
But rather than down accordingly, as renewables are booming, fossil fuel production is still rising worldwide. UN officials said it is because electricity demand is increasing overall as it spurs the need for cooling in developing countries, artificial intelligence data centers and in the warmer world.
“A typical AI data center eats as much electricity as 100,000 homes,” Guterres said. “By 2030, data centers could consume as much power as everything we do today.”
So Guterres has called on the world’s leading tech companies to power renewable energy and data centers completely by 2030.
Faced with solar and wind power, we cut back on renewable energy programs
In the US, solar and wind power generation grew at a rate of 12.3% per year from 2018 to 2023, Irena’s report states. However, since President Donald Trump took office earlier this year, his administration has reinforced the country from the landmark Paris Climate Agreement, cutting back many federal renewable energy programs, with a new focus on fossil fuels.
Guterres warned countries hanging on fossil fuels that they were on the dangerous path of not nameing the United States specifically, but to prevent them from becoming more prosperous.
“Country clinging to fossil fuels doesn’t protect their economy, they hinder them, they drive costs, they undermine their competitiveness.
Renewables are a sensible way to go for energy security, Guterres said. With renewable energy, he said, “There are no price spikes in the sun, there are no wind embargoes.”
Associated Press Climate and Environmental Insurance receives financial support from several private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP standards for working with Ap.org supporters and charities, a funded coverage area.
Original issue: July 22, 2025 10:20am EDT
