Engineer News Network The ultimate online news and information resource for today’s engineer
A record-breaking 740 gigawatts of renewable power capacity was added in 2024, by far the largest annual increase to date. Solar PV accounted for more than three-quarters of that growth, reflecting falling technology costs and surging demand. Yet this record progress is not enough to meet the global goal to triple renewable capacity by 2030.
REN21’s latest report, the Renewables 2025 Global Status Report: Global Overview shows a deeper and more troubling picture – while renewable deployment is surging, systemic transformation is stalling.
REN21 is the global multi-stakeholder network of governments, industry, NGOs, science and academia.
Despite the ambition to triple capacity this decade, current trajectories suggest a shortfall of 6.2 terawatts — more than all renewables deployed to date. Only solar PV is currently on track to deliver its full contribution to meeting the target.
Heat and fuels account for more than three quarters of total final energy consumption (TFEC), yet renewables only meet 5.7% of this demand and electrification across end use is slow and uneven across sectors. Long-term energy planning and institutional reform are needed to enable an economy-wide energy transition and accelerate the shift to renewables. Rising energy demand (+ 2.2% in 2024), along with mixed policy signals and market uncertainty are hindering progress at this critical moment.
“We are deploying renewables in record numbers, but we are not building the systems needed to transition to a renewables-based economy,” said Rana Adib, Executive Director of REN21. “Without coherent policies, coordinated planning, and resilient infrastructure including grids and storage, even record deployment cannot deliver speedy and lasting transformation. Renewables must now be treated as core economic infrastructure — essential for energy security, resilience and prosperity.”
A transition at risk
2024 and early 2025 saw major economies roll back or delay climate and sustainable energy measures, from the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement to New Zealand reversing its ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, while the UK announced it is stepping back from its planned ban on the sale of new gas boilers by 2035. Only 13 countries met the UN’s February deadline to submit updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for 2025–2035. This reflects a wider trend of decreased ambition due to shifting political dynamics, economic pressure and short-term decision making.
At the same time, the number of trade measures targeting renewables and related technologies jumped from just nine in 2015 to 212 in 2024—including 51 related to solar PV, 32 for wind and 51 for batteries. These trade measures, while intended to strengthen domestic markets and industries, are also creating supply uncertainty and delaying project implementation globally.
Oil companies and banks are backpedalling on their commitments and pausing transition-related investments, casting doubt on the reliability of voluntary contributions to the energy transition.
“Governments, investors and organisations need to act now. Short-term thinking won’t deliver the systemic changes needed to unlock the full benefits of renewables and delaying action will increase (climate, economic and security) risks and costs,” Adib added. “We must align policies, planning and finance now to support a full transformation of our economies and societies.”
Many companies, especially in the tech and industry sectors, increased renewable procurement by 69 GW through power purchase agreements (PPAs), a 35% increase from 2023, indicating that renewables are a strong economic choice. Strong demand signals remain, from rooftop solar uptake in countries like Pakistan and South Africa, to record global EV sales, representing more than one out of five car sales in 2024. However, EV sales slowed in parts of Europe as subsidies were reduced, and deployment of wind and heat pumps stagnated or decreased in several markets.
Investment in 2024 reached 728 billion USD, but remained heavily concentrated in a few markets, notably in China, the EU and the U.S. Combined with rising and uneven capital costs — which are often twice as high in low-income countries compared to developed economies — this is making it significantly harder for many countries to scale up renewable energy deployment. Moreover, there is currently an investment gap of 772 billion USD to reach the 1.5 trillion USD annual target.
Ramón Méndez Galain, President of REN21 and former Energy Secretary of Uruguay, added: “The energy transition is an opportunity to transform the foundations of our economies. Renewables are a catalyst for systemic change, but only if governments, investors and organisations align behind long-term strategies rather than short-term signals. Systemic change means moving beyond targets to implementation across institutions, sectors and policies.”
REN21 urges governments, industry, and international institutions to move beyond deployment targets and commit to system-wide reform — including long-term energy planning, modernising grids, investing in storage, reducing energy consumption, lowering financing barriers, moving away from fossil fuels and accelerating a fast, equitable shift to a renewables-based economy.
