A tipping point for the energy transition — but will we seize it?
By Rebecca Collyer, Executive Director at ReNew2030
“The world added over 600 gigawatts of solar and wind last year — with solar alone growing more than fifteen times faster what the IEA expected a decade ago.” This line from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit’s new report underlined a truth: few believe a transition is gathering pace until they can see it unfolding in real time. Ten years on from the Paris Agreement, it’s a reminder that the energy transition isn’t a future promise, it’s here, accelerating faster than most imagined. Even among experts, that very acceleration has expanded the community itself, giving rise to more expertise and visionaries than before!
Just weeks ago, fresh on the heels of NYC Climate Week, new data echoed the same story: solar generation hit a record high, and renewables overtook coal in global electricity generation for the first time ever.
The new figures confirm that progress is being made. The IEA projects that global renewable power capacity will double by 2030 — equal to the combined capacity of China, the EU, and Japan. Solar PV will lead, accounting for nearly 80% of this growth, with wind close behind despite ongoing challenges. And Ember’s analysis shows that in the first half of 2025 solar and wind growth exceeded the rise in global electricity demand, meaning clean energy didn’t just keep up, it outpaced it.
What we’re witnessing isn’t just a technical or economic transformation; it’s a profoundly human one. A fundamental shift in how the world powers itself: faster than many expected, yet still not fast enough. National Climate Commitments are starting to reflect this shift — many now include renewable energy goals, a notable change from before, but those goals still need to be strengthened.
The IEA’s “main case” scenario still falls short of the COP28 target to triple global renewables by 2030. But its accelerated case analysis shows we can close that gap if we act now to resolve financing barriers, cut red tape, and invest in infrastructure.
At ReNew2030, we’re working toward that future. Our mission is to help countries and regions stay on the steep part of the renewable S-curve by turning shared bottlenecks into solutions that can be scaled and replicated. While record growth is encouraging, not all regions are moving at the pace needed to align with the IEA’s Net Zero 2050 pathway, which requires a sustained global expansion on the order of 15% per year through 2030. Many countries, especially outside the frontrunner markets, need to raise both ambition and execution. Closing that “S-curve gap” is precisely what ReNew2030 was created to do.
Because this transition isn’t only about installing more solar panels. It’s about building systems that work for people. That means grid-ready infrastructure, institutional reforms, and local leadership.
As we approach COP30 in Brazil, we must be clear-eyed: this cannot be another summit of promises. It must deliver on credibility and implementation. To keep global climate goals within reach, we can’t simply restate ambition; we must accelerate deployment wherever it can make the biggest impact. That means every clean megawatt we can deploy faster, every policy we can unblock, every financing barrier we can remove, matters profoundly in keeping 1.5°C alive.
The choice before us is simple: seize this tipping point, or risk watching it slip away.
