A moment of opportunity: supercharging the clean energy age
Energy has shaped humanity's path – from mastering fire, to harnessing steam, to splitting the atom. Today, we're at the dawn of a new era. The sun is rising on a clean energy age.
Last year, nearly all new power capacity came from renewables. Investment in clean energy soared to $2 trillion – $800 billion more than fossil fuels.
Solar and wind are now the cheapest sources of power on Earth, and clean energy sectors are creating jobs, boosting growth and powering progress despite fossil fuels still receiving far greater subsidies.
Countries that cling to fossil fuels are not protecting their economies, they are sabotaging them – undermining competitiveness, and missing the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century. Clean energy also delivers energy sovereignty and security. Fossil fuel markets are at the mercy of price shocks, supply disruptions, and geopolitical turmoil, as we saw when Russia invaded Ukraine. But there are no price spikes for sunlight, no embargoes on wind, and almost every nation has enough renewable resources to be energy self-sufficient.
Finally, clean energy spurs development. It can reach the hundreds of millions of people still living without electricity quickly, affordably and sustainably, particularly through off-grid and small-scale solar technologies.
All this makes the clean energy era unstoppable. But the transition is not yet fast or fair enough. Developing countries are being left behind. Fossil fuels still dominate energy systems, and emissions are still rising when they must plummet to avoid the worst of the climate crisis. To fix this, we need action on six fronts.
First, governments must fully commit to the clean energy future. In the coming months, every country has pledged to submit new national climate plans – known as Nationally Determined Contributions – with targets for the next decade. These plans must align with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, cover all emissions and sectors, and lay out a clear path to clean energy. G20 countries, responsible for around 80 per cent of global emissions, must lead.
Second, we must build 21st century energy systems. Without modern grids and storage, renewable power can't fulfill its potential. But for every dollar invested in renewable power, just 60 cents go to grids and storage. That ratio needs to be one- to-one.
Third, governments must aim to meet the world's surging energy demand with renewables. Major tech companies must also play their part. By 2030, data centres could consume as much electricity as Japan does today. Companies should commit to power them with renewables. Fourth, we must embed justice in the energy transition. This means supporting communities still dependent on fossil fuels to prepare for the clean energy future. And it means reforming critical minerals supply chains. Today, they're riddled with rights abuses and environmental destruction, and developing countries are trapped at the bottom of value chains. This must end.
Fifth, we must make trade a tool for energy transformation. Clean energy supply chains are highly concentrated and global trade is fragmenting. Countries committed to the new energy era must work to diversify supplies, cut tariffs on clean energy goods, and modernize investment treaties so they support the transition.
Sixth and finally, we must drive finance to developing countries. Africa received just two percent of renewables investment last year, despite having 60 per cent of the world's best solar resources. We need international action – to prevent debt repayments sucking developing country budgets dry, and to enable multilateral development banks to substantially increase their lending capacity, and leverage far more private finance. We also need credit rating agencies and investors to modernise risk assessments, to account for the promise of clean energy, the cost of climate chaos, and the danger of stranded fossil fuel assets.
A new energy era is within reach – an era where cheap, clean abundant energy powers a world rich in economic opportunity, where nations have the security of energy autonomy, and the gift of electricity is a gift for all.
This is our moment of opportunity to supercharge the global shift. Let's seize it.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Ammon
8 hours ago
- Ammon
Sisi urges Trump to exert all efforts to end Gaza war
Ammon News - Earlier on Monday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on Trump to exert all efforts to end the war in Gaza and allow entry of humanitarian aid into the shattered Palestinian enclave. "I direct this special message to President Trump: Please, exert all efforts to end this war and allow the entry of aid," Sisi said in a televised speech. He added that Trump was one who was "capable of stopping the war." Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. have been mediating in search of ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas since the war broke out on October 7, 2023. The latest round of indirect ceasefire talks in Doha between Israel and Hamas broke off last week with no deal in sight as mediators struggle to bridge the gaps between the two sides.

Ammon
9 hours ago
- Ammon
Liverpool agree £65.5m deal to sell winger to Bayern Munich
Ammon News - Liverpool have agreed a deal to sell Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich. The total fee for the deal is £65.5m. Diaz, who has two years remaining on his Liverpool contract, now has permission to leave the club's Asia tour. Sky Sports News understand he is expected to leave Tokyo on Monday to finalise the move to Bayern. Liverpool rejected Bayern's initial advances and an offer believed to be in the region of £58.5m (€67m) but the German club returned with a second offer of £65.5m (€75m) including add-ons. The Reds have accepted the offer after securing what the club considers to be full market value. Throughout the summer, Liverpool had been unwilling to sell a key first-team player but Diaz and his representatives pushed for a move. He first signalled a wish to leave in the summer of 2024, but the club held firm while assessing both the squad and the market. Two separate attempts from Liverpool to agree a contract extension failed due to a gap between offers and demands, and after Diaz helped deliver the club's 20th Premier League title, Liverpool reluctantly agreed to his request to leave. Diaz joined Liverpool in January 2022 for a guaranteed £37.5m (€42.9m) payment, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract.

Ammon
9 hours ago
- Ammon
US senator wants Musk to block use of Starlink in Southeast Asia
Ammon News - A Democratic senator on Monday urged SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to block transnational criminal groups in Southeast Asia from using Starlink satellite internet service to commit fraud against Americans. Senator Maggie Hassan cited recent reports that Starlink is being used to facilitate fraud against Americans by a broad range of transnational criminal organizations operating "scam compounds" in Southeast Asia. The U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said these groups defrauded Americans out of billions of dollars, she added. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. "Scam networks in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, however, have apparently continued to use Starlink despite service rules permitting SpaceX to terminate access for fraudulent activity," Hassan wrote in a letter to Musk seen by Reuters. "SpaceX has a responsibility to block criminals from using the service to target Americans."