In brief
As global fossil fuel emissions continue to rise in 2025, climate reports indicate a slowing growth trend attributable to the rapid expansion of renewable energy sources. The UN climate talks in Brazil, COP30, may be pivotal as analysis reveals that emissions in the electricity generation sector are stabilizing, primarily due to solar energy advancements. Experts advocate for aggressive policies to ensure emission reductions reach necessary levels.
The world's burning of fossil fuels is set to release more planet-warming carbon dioxide than ever before this year, new figures show.
It is another sign that efforts to fight climate change by cutting emissions are moving far too slowly to meet international targets, as countries meet in Brazil for UN climate talks COP30.
But emissions have grown much less quickly over the past decade as renewables have taken off, providing hope that the world's warming trend can still be curbed.
And separate analysis by clean energy think tank Ember suggests that fossil fuel use in electricity generation has flatlined in 2025, largely thanks to the rapid growth of solar power.
This effect of the renewables boom is highlighted by emissions in the power or electricity sector. Electricity generated from fossil fuels is forecast to flatline or even decline slightly this year, for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.
What's unusual about this year, Ember says, is that this has happened even though electricity demand increased sharply, rather than resulting from an economic recession.
And this year's extra electricity demand has been more than met by wind and, particularly, solar.
Corinne Le Quéré, professor of climate change science at the University of East Anglia, noted, We're not yet in a situation where the emissions go down as rapidly as they need to, to tackle climate change, but at the same time there are a lot of positive developments. She commented on how emissions growth has slowed largely due to major advancements in renewable energy across various nations.
