Early Signs of a 'Turning Point' as Renewables Edge Out Coal

[applegrove]

Early Signs of a ‘Turning Point’ as Renewables Edge Out Coal

The world generated more electricity from renewable energy than coal for the first time ever, a new report finds. The United States is lagging behind.

By Claire Brown
Oct. 7, 2025

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/climate/renewable-energy-growth-globally.html?smid=url-share

In the first six months of the year, renewables like solar and wind generated more electricity than coal for the first time ever, according to a report published Tuesday by Ember, an energy think tank.

But at the same time, the International Energy Agency on Tuesday lowered its forecast for renewable energy growth in the United States over the next five years by almost 50 percent.

These two new forecasts put hard numbers on trends that have been moving in opposite directions: As the United States moves swiftly away from policies that address climate change, renewables are making big gains in the rest of the world.

Taken together, these updates tell a story of uneven progress. In the United States and the European Union, greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector were up in the first half of 2025. In China and India, they were down.