United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said the global investment in clean energy reaches to US$2 trillion last year as 90 percent of the new power capacity added in 2024 from renewable energy.
He urged world leaders to accelerate the global shift toward renewable energy, warning that current efforts remain “dangerously short” of what is needed to avert climate catastrophe.
Speaking at the Energy Transition Roundtable during the Belém Climate Summit, Guterres said the world’s energy landscape is changing “at lightning speed,” with renewables dominating new power capacity and clean energy investment reaching record highs.
“The renewables revolution is here,” he declared. “But we must go much faster – and ensure all nations share the benefits.”
According to Guterres, 90 percent of new power capacity added last year came from renewables, and global investment in clean energy reached US$2 trillion, outpacing fossil fuels by $800 billion. Renewables, he noted, are now the cheapest source of new electricity in almost every country and create three times more jobs per dollar invested than fossil fuels.
Still, he warned that the world remains off course to meet the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement. Even with current national pledges fully implemented, temperatures are projected to rise by “clearly more than 2 degrees,” he said — a trajectory that spells “more floods, more heat, more suffering – everywhere.”
Scientists now expect a temporary overshoot of 1.5°C in the early 2030s, Guterres said, adding that the severity and duration of this overshoot will depend on the speed and scale of action taken today.
To limit the damage and return below 1.5°C by the end of the century, he emphasized that global emissions must fall by nearly half by 2030, reach net zero by 2050, and move into net negative territory thereafter.
The Secretary-General outlined five urgent priorities for governments and the private sector:
Align laws and incentives with a just energy transition, and eliminate fossil fuel subsidies.
Put people and equity at the centre, supporting workers and communities dependent on fossil fuels through training and new opportunities.
Invest in grids, storage, and efficiency to keep pace with the renewables surge.
Meet all new electricity demand—including from data centres driving the AI revolution—with clean power.
Unlock finance at scale for developing nations, particularly in Africa, which currently receives only 2 per cent of global clean energy investment.
“We need international cooperation to tear down barriers, cut the cost of capital, and crowd in private investment,” he said.
Guterres underscored that while national pathways will differ, the global destination must be shared: a net-zero world followed by a net-negative one, powered by renewables.
“Let us move with speed and solidarity,” he urged. “Make fairness the engine of acceleration – and build economies that are clean, inclusive and resilient. Turn climate necessity into development opportunity – everywhere.”
Concluding his remarks, the UN chief offered a stark message about the future of global energy:
“The fossil fuel age is ending. Clean energy is rising.”