Increase in renewable energy curbs emissions growth in 2025, IEA says
PARIS — Global emissions rose at a slower rate in 2025 as the expansion of renewable energy (RE) sources, like solar power, helped developing countries offset emissions growth in advanced economies, led by the United States, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report on Monday.
Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rose 0.4% in 2025, slowing from recent years as a boom in solar power supply dominated changes in the supply mix, the IEA said.
Overall global energy demand growth eased to 1.3%, just below the average of the previous decade, while gas demand growth slowed sharply because of relatively high prices in the first half of the year.
The data included a reversal of a long-term trend, with advanced economies recording their first annual rise in emissions since 2018, the agency said. This was led by the US, which relied more heavily on coal-generated electricity amid high gas prices.
US energy demand growth reached its second-highest level since 2000, excluding post-recession rebound years, driven by strong electricity demand from data centers, robust industrial growth and colder temperatures, the IEA said.
In China, which the IEA classifies as a developing economy, emissions fell as the country led additions of solar capacity.
Emissions in India fell during normal economic conditions for the first time on record, having previously decreased only in the pandemic year of 2020 and during the oil shocks of the 1970s, largely because of a strong monsoon season and increased renewable generation. — Reuters
