The International Renewable Energy Agency, IRENA, released its Renewable Energy Statistics 2026 on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
The report shows that electricity from renewable sources grew by 9.8% in 2024.
That growth is much higher than what was recorded in 2023.
Electricity from non-renewable sources like coal and gas only grew by 1.4% in the same period.
Overall, renewables made up 31.7% of all electricity generated worldwide in 2024.
That equals 9,836 terawatt hours of power.
Türkiye, which will lead the COP31 climate talks, has set a goal to get 35% of all energy use from electricity by 2035.
To reach that goal, IRENA says renewables will need to grow from 31.7% today to 78% of global electricity by 2035.
That means renewable electricity will have to be about 2.5 times bigger than it is now.
IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera said the world is backing electrification as the main way to shift away from fossil fuels.
He said clean electricity makes countries more secure and competitive, and that we must move faster to clean power in homes, transport and industry.
UN Climate Chief Simon Stiell said the switch to clean energy is now “irreversible.”
He noted that renewable power is cheaper, safer and faster to build than fossil fuels.
But he also said many poor countries still need financial support to keep up.
The report confirms that solar and wind power are leading the growth.
Asia was the top region with 4,589 TWh of renewable electricity, a 14.3% increase.
Europe produced 1,758 TWh, up 7.2%.
North America generated 1,535 TWh, up 5.8%.
South America made 1,047 TWh, up 2.9%.
Eurasia produced 411 TWh, up 11.9%.
Africa generated 227 TWh, up 5.7%.
Oceania had 138 TWh, up 3.4%.
The Middle East had the fastest growth at 17.3%, reaching 76 TWh.
Central America and the Caribbean produced 55 TWh, up 5.8%.
IRENA also updated its data on new projects.
In 2025, a record 693 gigawatts of new renewable capacity was added.
By the end of 2025, renewables made up 5.2 terawatts, or 49.5% of all electricity capacity in the world.
New renewable projects accounted for 85.7% of all new power plants built last year.
The report shows that renewable energy continues to grow much faster than non-renewable energy.
