Global Energy Review 2026 (IEA)

Summary

• Global energy demand growth slowed to 1.3% in 2025, just below the average for the previous decade.p.5
• Solar PV met more than 25% of higher demand, followed by natural gas at 17%, the first time a modern renewable source contributed the largest share of demand growth.p.5
• Annual global renewable capacity additions rose to a record 800 GW, of which solar contributed 75%.p.6
• Battery storage capacity additions rose by around 40% in 2025 to reach almost 110 GW.p.6
• Global energy-related CO2 emissions rose by around 0.4% in 2025, hitting a record of more than 38 billion tonnes.p.13
• Electric car sales increased by more than 20% to 21 million units, with one in four cars sold being electric.p.26

Key insights

1. Global electricity demand grew by around 3% in 2025, adding around 800 TWh.p.9
2. Solar PV posted a record increase of 600 TWh, taking its total electricity generation to nearly 2 700 TWh.p.10
3. Coal demand in 2025 grew only 0.4%, with a 10% rise in the United States and flat demand in China.p.6
4. Global GDP expanded by 3.1% in 2025, compared with 3.3% in 2024.p.11
5. Oil demand increased by 0.65 mb/d, a 0.7% rise, against a 2010-19 average annual rise of 1.4 mb/d.p.15
6. Natural gas demand grew by 1%, a slowdown from the 2.8% increase in 2024.p.18
7. China's energy demand growth slowed to 1.7% from 2.7% a year earlier.p.8
8. In the European Union, the share of solar PV and wind reached 30% in 2025, surpassing that of fossil fuels for the first time.p.6