UN Chief Declares Clean Energy Boom 'Unstoppable'

(MENAFN) With global investment in clean energy reaching an unprecedented $2 trillion last year, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday proclaimed the energy transition as "unstoppable." He highlighted that clean energy spending exceeded fossil fuel investments by $800 billion and had grown nearly 70 percent over the past decade.

Citing newly released data from the International Renewable Energy Agency, Guterres emphasized how renewable technologies have dramatically outpaced fossil fuels in affordability. Solar photovoltaic, once four times more expensive, now costs 41 percent less than fossil fuels, while offshore wind is 53 percent cheaper, he said. Guterres made these remarks during a special climate address titled “A Moment of Opportunity: Supercharging the Clean Energy Age”, which coincided with the release of a new UN technical report compiled in partnership with major global energy and finance institutions.

More than 90 percent of newly deployed renewable energy sources worldwide are now generating electricity at costs below even the cheapest new fossil fuel options, Guterres noted.

"This is not just a shift in power. This is a shift in possibility," he stated.

According to Guterres, the emission reductions achieved globally through solar and wind energy are nearly equivalent to the annual emissions of the entire European Union. "But this transformation is fundamentally about energy security and people's security. It's about smart economics," he said, adding that it also promotes decent jobs, better public health, and progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

The new report reviews the progress made since the Paris Agreement ignited a global clean energy movement and outlines the significant benefits and urgent steps needed to fast-track a fair and inclusive energy shift worldwide.

Despite the momentum, Guterres cautioned that the pace and equity of the transition still fall short of what is required.

"Meanwhile, the climate crisis is laying waste to lives and livelihoods," he warned.

He outlined six key areas of opportunity to accelerate the clean energy shift: enhanced national climate strategies, upgraded grid and energy storage systems, sustainable demand management, just transitions for workers and communities, expanded clean energy trade and investment, and improved financial support for developing economies.

"This is our moment of opportunity," Guterres urged, calling for comprehensive reforms in global finance, more effective multilateral development banks, and mechanisms like debt-for-climate swaps.

"The fossil fuel age is flailing and failing. We are in the dawn of a new energy era," he concluded.

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