When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine put the world on red alert over their energy security last year, fear spread that the clean energy transition would be derailed as retired coal plants came back online, and oil and gas companies walked back their climate pledges amid soaring profits. But one year later, not only have renewable sources made even further inroads in the global energy system, some experts are saying global fossil fuels use could start permanently declining as early as this year.
The Ukraine War likely ended up accelerating, not delaying, the clean energy transition, as a short-term surge in fossil fuel use is being overshadowed by many countries’ turn to renewables and nuclear power to guarantee their energy security, the International Energy Agency, a watchdog group, announced in February. Now, the share of global electricity generated by renewables including wind and solar power is growing so fast there may be no going back, according to a new report released Wednesday by research firm Ember, an independent environmental non-profit and think tank.
