Since the advent of commercially available electricity, the world’s primary generation source has been coal. And despite natural gas overtaking the combustible black sedimentary rock as the foremost source used in the United States in 2016, coal has remained king globally. That was until the first half of 2025.
According to a report published by energy think tank Ember, renewable energy sources collectively contributed 34.3% of all global electricity generated in the first six months of the year compared to coal accounting for 33.1% of all generation.
