The increase in solar and wind power outpaced global electricity demand growth in the first half of 2025, according to a report from Ember. Solar alone met 83% of the rise, with many countries setting new records. Fossil fuels remained mostly flat, with a slight decline. Fossil generation fell in China and India, but grew in the EU and the US.
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June 2025: first month ever where solar is main EU energy source
In the second quarter of 2025, 54% of net electricity generated in the EU came from renewable energy sources, an increase from the 52.7% registered in the same quarter of 2024. This increase was mostly due to solar energy, which generated a total of 122,317 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the second quarter of 2025, representing 19.9% of the total electricity generation mix.
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€545m package to accelerate Africa’s clean energy transition
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has unveiled today a €545m Team Europe package to accelerate Africa's clean energy transition. This announcement is an important milestone in the ‘Scaling Up Renewables in Africa' campaign, co-hosted with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. This campaign raises global awareness and mobilises public and private investments for clean energy generation and access across Africa.
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Commission guides States on fulfilling Social Climate Plans
The European Commission has issued new guidance to help EU Member States effectively implement the Social Climate Fund (SCF) and complete their Social Climate Plans (SCPs). Starting in 2026 and mobilising over €86bn, the Social Climate Fund has been created to ensure the transition to a greener economy is fair and leaves no one behind, and to support vulnerable households and small businesses in their efforts to switch to cleaner energy and transport.
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President Xi Jinping announces China’s climate commitments
China will, by 2035, reduce economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7% to 10% from peak levels, said President Xi Jinping of China at the United Nations Climate Summit on 24 September. China will increase the share of non-fossil fuels used in its energy supply to over 30%; expand the installed capacity of wind and solar power to over six times the 2020 levels; make electric vehicles mainstream; expand the National Carbon Emissions Trading Market to cover major high-emission sectors; and establish a climate adaptive society.
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Electricity demand surges across the Middle East and N Africa
Electricity demand in the Middle East and N Africa tripled between 2000 and 2024 as populations and incomes rose. Based on today’s policy settings, the region’s electricity consumption is projected to rise by another 50% by 2035 – adding the equivalent of the current demand of Germany and Spain combined.
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António Guterres welcomes the BBNJ Agreement
As the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction – the BBNJ Agreement – reached the required threshold of ratifications for entry into force, UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed this historic achievement for the ocean and for multilateralism.
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Climate TRACE: 1.6bn people are at harm from pollution
Climate TRACE has released a tool that makes the threat of harmful particulate matter (PM2.5) visible to all. The tool shows the flow of air pollution plumes out of sources that contribute to the climate crisis and into the air that 1.6bn people in more than 2,500 urban areas breathe.
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UK launches principles for navigating grid transformation
As the UK looks to further its move towards net zero, the transformation of its electricity grid is central to delivering clean, secure and affordable energy. The Government Office for Science has published a set of key principles for policymakers to consider when developing policy to strengthen and expand the national electricity grid. The principles support the embedding of social science into the government’s mission to become a clean energy superpower.
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14 September 202514 September 2025Nature, Regulation, Updates
UK introduces landmark legislation to protect ocean
The UK government has introduced a landmark bill to protect two-thirds of the world’s ocean, a key source of food and oxygen for people in the UK and all over the world. This marks a major step forward in global efforts to protect marine life and ecosystems beyond national borders.
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Heatwaves linked to carbon emissions from specific energy companies
A study published in Nature shows that around one-quarter of the heatwaves recorded in the period 2000–23 can be directly linked to greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions from individual energy companies. It says that more than one-quarter of the 213 events recorded would have been “virtually impossible” without human-induced global warming.
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Taking Stock 2025: US GHGs unsurprisingly higher
“The first seven months of the second Trump administration and 119th Congress have seen the most abrupt shift in energy and climate policy in recent memory,” says Rhodium Group’s annual independent outlook of the evolution of the US energy system. “After the Biden administration adopted meaningful policies to drive decarbonisation, Congress and the White House are now enacting a policy regime that is openly hostile to wind, solar, and electric vehicles and seeks to promote increased fossil fuel production and use.”
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First CO2 storage by Northern Lights JV achieved
The first CO2 volumes have now been transported by the Northern Lights project through the 100km pipeline and injected into the Aurora reservoir 2,600m below the seabed of the Norwegian North Sea. Northern Lights will transport and store CO2 from Norway during the remainder of 2025 with CO2 volumes from Denmark and the Netherlands expected to be added in 2026.
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First wind turbine installed in Poland by Baltic Power
Northland Power, based in Canada, has announced the successful installation of the first turbine at the Baltic Power project which is a 1.1GW offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea. Baltic Power is a joint venture between Northland and ORLEN Group and is expected to be Poland’s first operating offshore wind farm.
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Eunomia: full subsidy removal would reduce polymer production
Eunomia’s latest report demonstrates that full subsidy removal would lead to substantial reductions in polymer production, particularly in economies with high subsidy levels. Meanwhile, the impact on consumer prices would be minimal. For fast-moving consumer goods such as bottled water, the average price increase is estimated between just 0.14% and 0.90%.