In 2025, new data from the International Renewable Energy Agency showed that renewable energy had passed a “positive tipping point” as solar and wind power globally became cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuels.
The report showed that solar power was, on average, 41% cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternatives, while onshore wind projects were 53% cheaper. Additionally, 91% of new renewable energy projects commissioned in 2024 were less expensive than any fossil fuel alternatives.
The data was backed by additional multi-agency reporting from the United Nations, which found that 74% of growth in electricity generation in 2024 came from wind, solar, and other clean energy sources.
"The fossil fuel age is flailing and failing," United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a press conference. "We are in the dawn of a new energy era. An era where cheap, clean, abundant energy powers a world rich in economic opportunity.”
Guterres emphasized the business case for renewable energy, saying that it limits dependence on international fuel markets and improves energy security.
“Clean energy is smart economics, and the world is following the money,” Guterres noted, pointing to reports that showed that the U.S. invested $2 trillion in green energy in the previous year, compared to the country’s $800 billion investment in fossil fuels.
A version of this article originally appeared in the 2026 Environment Edition of the Goodnewspaper
You may also like: New study confirms that electric vehicles are already making the air cleaner
Header image via Red Zeppelin
