Kenyan tourist plane crash kills 11 near Indian Ocean coast
A light aircraft carrying foreign tourists from Hungary and Germany crashed in Kenya on Tuesday morning, killing all 11 people on board....
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) officially confirmed that 2024 was a record year for renewables additions to global power capacity. Renewables represented more than 92 per cent of all new electricity generation capacity installed last year.
Renewable Capacity Statistics 2025 report released by IRENA shows a massive increase in renewable power capacity during 2024, reaching 4 448 gigawatts (GW). The 585 GW addition last year indicates a 92.5% share of the total capacity expansion, and a record rate of annual growth (15.1%).
Although 2024 marks yet another benchmark in renewable energy capacity and growth, progress still falls short of the 11.2 terawatts needed to align with the global goal to triple installed renewable energy capacity by 2030. To reach this goal, renewable capacity must now expand by 16.6 % annually until 2030, according to IRENA.
The amount of renewables added represents more than the total electricity capacity of Brazil and Japan combined.
Europe’s capacity grew by 9 per cent – with Germany contributing more than one-quarter of that growth. Africa’s capacity grew by almost 7 per cent.
In addition, progress yet again reflects significant geographic disparities. As in previous years, most of the increase occurred in Asia, with the greatest share being contributed by China – almost 64% of the global added capacity – while Central America and the Caribbean contributed the least at only 3.2%. The G7 and G20 countries respectively accounted for 14.3% and 90.3% of new capacity in 2024.
“The continuous growth of renewables we witness each year is evidence that renewables are economically viable and readily deployable. Each year they keep breaking their own expansion records, but we also face the same challenges of great regional disparities and the ticking clock as the 2030 deadline is imminent,” - said IRENA Director-General, Francesco La Camera.
“With economic competitiveness and energy security being increasingly a major global concern today, expanding renewable power capacity at speed equals tapping into business opportunities and addressing energy security quickly and sustainably. I call on governments to leverage on the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.0) as an opportunity to outline a clear blueprint of their renewable energy ambitions, and on the international community to enhance collaborations in support of the ambitions of Global South’s countries,” he added.
With this regard, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, said that renewable energy is not only powering down the fossil fuel age, the record-breaking growth is creating jobs, lowering energy bills and cleaning the air.
"Renewables renew economies. But the shift to clean energy must be faster and fairer – with all countries given the chance to fully benefit from cheap, clean renewable power,” - he added
Since 2010, the average cost of wind power has plunged 60%. Solar is 90% cheaper.
In 2023, clean energy sectors accounted for five per cent of economic growth in India and six in the US. It accounted for a fifth of China’s GDP growth, and a third of the EU’s.
Solar and wind energy continued to expand the most, jointly accounting for 96.6% of all net renewable additions in 2024. Over three-quarters of the capacity expansion was in solar energy which increased by 32.2%, reaching 1 865 GW, followed by wind energy which grew by 11.1%.
Technology highlights:
Solar: solar photovoltaics increased by 451.9 GW last year. China alone added 278 GW to the total expansion, followed by India (24.5 GW).
Hydropower (excluding pumped storage hydropower): capacity reached 1 283 GW, demonstrating a notable rebound from 2023, driven by China. Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nepal Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam added more than 0.5 GW each.
Wind: wind energy expansion declined slightly, to a total of 1 133 GW capacity by the end of 2024. Expansion was once again dominated by China and the United States (US).
Bioenergy: expansion rebounded in 2024, with an increase of 4.6 GW of capacity compared to an increase of 3.0 GW in 2023. The growth was driven by China and France with 1.3 GW of additions each.
Geothermal: geothermal energy increased by 0.4 GW overall, led by New Zealand, followed by Indonesia, Türkiye, and the US.
Off-grid electricity (excluding Eurasia, Europe and North America): capacity expansion nearly tripled, growing by 1.7 GW to reach 14.3 GW. Growth was dominated by off-grid solar energy which reached 6.3 GW by 2024.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
Snapchat will start charging users who store more than 5GB of photos and videos in its Memories feature, prompting backlash from long-time users.
Billionaire investor and philanthropist Bill Gates called on world leaders on Tuesday to adapt to extreme weather and focus on improving health outcomes rather than temperature reduction targets ahead of the COP30 climate talks in Brazil.
Three people have died in Jamaica as Hurricane Melissa, possibly the island’s strongest storm ever, approaches with “catastrophic” conditions, warn U.S. meteorologists.
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck the Sındırgı district in western Türkiye’s Balıkesir province late on Monday, according to the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).
As Hurricane Melissa barrels towards Jamaica as a powerful Category 4 storm, questions often arise about how these tempests get their names.
The U.N. weather agency plans to cut some posts and is reviewing its priorities as dozens of countries, including the United States, are late with their fees, a spokesperson said on Friday.
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