It seems as if the whole world is retreating on climate and green energy. Politicians in many places are calling for so-called energy realism. In the US, President Trump calls global warming a hoax. The EPA has repealed the endangerment finding, the 2009 science-based finding that the buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endangers public health and welfare.
But by many straightforward measures, the notion that the green transition has screeched to a halt is simply wrong. There is more green stuff being installed than ever, and the amount of it is rather amazing. In 2024, 92.5% of new power capacity installed around the world was renewable. Even in the oil-loving Trump United States, more than 92% of utility-scale electricity capacity planned for installation in 2026 is green.
A few examples of the green transition: In January, a total of exactly seven gas-powered new cars were sold in all of Norway. In Pakistan, parts of the country will get more electricity from rooftop solar than from its entire electricity grid during parts of the day. With vast amounts of solar power, electricity prices in Australia have fallen by a third in one year.
Oil companies wield tremendous political power, and the turmoil in the Middle East is complicating matters further. But the global trends in green power are too powerful to stop. A key indicator is that in 2026, the world may well spend more on green energy in total than it devotes to military spending. Or if not this year, sometime soon.
