Power Energy
Global Energy Outlook 2025: Record Clean Energy Investment Meets Record Emissions – What It Means for the Transition
The 2025 Global Energy Outlook harmonizes 13 scenarios to reveal a stark paradox: clean energy investment hit $2 trillion in 2024, yet global CO₂ emissions also reached an all-time high. While wind and solar are projected to supply over 50% of electricity by 2050 in every scenario, coal’s decline varies dramatically, and natural gas remains a wildcard. China dominates solar capacity growth, accounting for 60% of global additions in 2023, while the rest of the world lags with growth rates of 6.7–12% CAGR. This article unpacks the economic logic behind these trends, the geopolitical dependencies shaping supply chains, and the policy uncertainties—especially pre-U.S. election assumptions—that could derail or accelerate the energy transition.