Around 91 per cent of renewable energy projects commissioned in 2024 was cheaper than fossil fuels, according to a study published on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
The report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), found that the average cost of solar power was 41 per cent lower than the cheapest fossil fuel options, while onshore wind energy was 53 per cent cheaper.
UN Secretary General, António Guterres, hailed the findings as the dawn of a “new era.”
“The clean energy future is no longer a promise. It’s a fact,” Guterres said in New York at the presentation of the report. “No government, no industry, no special interest can stop it.”
“Countries that cling to fossil fuels are not protecting their economies they are sabotaging them,” said Guterres.
According to the study, the expansion of renewable energies not only brings progress in climate protection, but also has direct economic effects.
In 2024 alone, 582 gigawatts of new renewable capacity will be installed worldwide, “avoiding fossil fuel use valued at about 57 billion dollars,” it said in a press release.
According to the UN secretary general, a lack of investment in the industry would weaken countries’ competitiveness.
Those sticking to fossil fuels are missing out, he said, on the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century.
Guterres also argued that countries would become more independent and less vulnerable by transitioning to renewables.
Energy crises such as the one experienced in Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be avoided with renewable energies, he said.
There are no price spikes for sunlight. No embargoes on wind.