UN says booming solar, wind and other green energy hits global tipping point for even lower costs

The global switch to renewable energy has passed a “positive tipping point” where solar and wind power will become even cheaper and more widespread, according to two United Nations reports released Tuesday, describing a bright spot amid otherwise gloomy progress to curb climate change, Report informs via AP News.

Last year, 74% of the growth in electricity generated worldwide was from wind, solar and other green sources, according to the UN’s multiagency report, called Seizing the Moment of Opportunity. It found that 92.5% of all new electricity capacity added to the grid worldwide in that time period came from renewables. Meanwhile, sales of electric vehicles are up from 500,000 in 2015 to more than 17 million in 2024.

The three cheapest electricity sources globally last year were onshore wind, solar panels and new hydropower, according to an energy cost report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Solar power now is 41% cheaper and wind power is 53% cheaper globally than the lowest-cost fossil fuel, the reports said. Fossil fuels, which are the chief cause of climate change, include coal, oil and natural gas.

“The fossil fuel age is flailing and failing,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in Tuesday morning speech unveiling the reports. “We are in the dawn of a new energy era. An era where cheap, clean, abundant energy powers a world rich in economic opportunity.”

“Just follow the money,” Guterres said, quoting the reports that showed last year there was $2 trillion in investment in green energy, which is about $800 billion more than in fossil fuels.

Still, United Nations officials said the switch to renewable energy, while remarkable compared to 10 years ago, is not happening fast enough.

The global renewables growth has been mostly in developed countries such as China — where one-tenth of the economy is tied up in green energy — as well as countries such as India and Brazil.

Yet Africa represented less than 2% of the new green energy capacity installed last year despite having great electrification needs, the reports said. United Nations officials blamed the high cost of capital for the Global South.

And renewables are booming despite fossil fuels getting nearly nine times the government consumption subsidies as they do, Guterres and the reports said. In 2023, global fossil fuel subsidies amounted to $620 billion, compared to $70 billion for renewables, the UN report said.

But just as renewables are booming, fossil fuel production globally is still increasing, instead of going down in response. United Nations officials said that’s because power demand is increasing overall, spurred by developing countries, artificial intelligence data centers and the need for cooling in an ever warmer world.