Green energy can’t yet bend climate curve

Last year, renewable energy installations scaled a landmark, globally. Solar, wind and hydro edged out fossil fuels as the predominant source of power. The world’s two most populous countries, India and China, led the charge in adding clean energy installations. Yet, human activities pushed global warming to 1.37 degrees Celsius in 2025, according to the latest Indicators of Global Climate Change (IGCC) report, published on Wednesday in the journal Earth System Science Data. That the increase in warming comes at a time when the appetite for clean energy is at record levels frames the scale of the challenge for policymakers the world over. The expansion in renewables, though significant, is still not enough to check the rise in GHG emissions.

Unlike the power sector and, to an extent, the transport sector, large sections of the industry continue to be driven by fossil fuels. Transitioning to cleaner alternatives – green hydrogen, for instance – takes time and requires investments. In the short run, national policies can help by nudging manufacturers towards adopting energy-efficient machines, using recyclable materials, and minimising waste. Recycled aluminium, for instance, requires much less energy than new aluminium. However, sustainable equipment often has high upfront costs. Integrating green technologies with traditional systems requires research and development. All this can be contingent on cooperation between academia and governments, and among governments. Unfortunately, know-how transfer has been the Achilles Heel of global warming mitigation.

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At the current emission rate, the carbon budget—the GHG that can still be emitted if global warming can be kept below the Paris Climate Pact’s threshold of 1.5°C— could be completely depleted in about three years, according to the IGCC report. The report comes at a time when national representatives have assembled at Bonn for mid-year climate talks. With the heatwave sweeping Europe and several other parts of the world, the report’s warnings should resonate among the participants.