Solar was the world’s fastest growing energy source in 2025 as demand for power soared, the International Energy Agency said in its annual report Monday.
The findings underscored how the energy transition has continued to advance globally, even as President Donald Trump has attacked clean energy technologies like wind, solar and electric vehicles. IEA estimated that the growth in clean technologies since 2019 had prevented 3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere annually, or around 8 percent of global climate pollution.
The growth of low carbon resources was led by solar, which accounted for 25 percent of the increase in global energy demand. That was more than any other fuel and marked the first time in modern history that a renewable energy technology supplied the largest share of the growth in global energy demand, IEA said. Natural gas was second, meeting 17 percent of demand growth.
The solar boom came during a year when global electricity demand grew 3 percent while oil demand grew by less than 1 percent, illustrating wider shifts in the economy. Robust electric vehicle sales tempered oil demand growth while the rise of renewables was partially responsible for flat coal demand in China, the world’s largest coal market, IEA said.
