A quiet revolution: The world’s turn toward green energy is irreversible
Planet heating up, climate ambitions cooling down
Emissions from the burning of fossil fuels — the main anthropogenic source of greenhouse gases and the primary driver of global warming — are still rising. According to preliminary estimates by the Global Carbon Budget, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion and the cement industry increased by 1.1% in 2025 compared with 2024. That said, there are signs that total CO₂ emissions may have reached a plateau, meaning 2025 may well prove to have been the turning point in the fight against greenhouse gases.
Notably, this comes amidst a rollback in climate policy initiatives not only in the United States, where the Trump administration consistently opposes the very concept of global warming, but even in the EU, as The Insider previously detailed. In December 2025, the European Commission proposed revising the ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles, previously scheduled for 2035. The new document calls for a 90% reduction in exhaust emissions by 2035 compared with 2021 levels, rather than a 100% cut as previously planned. This would allow hybrid, gasoline, and diesel vehicles to remain in use after 2035, albeit in very limited numbers.
Green by inertia
Nevertheless, in the first half of 2025, the share of clean energy generation worldwide exceeded one-third of total electricity produced, overtaking coal-derived energy for the first time. Solar and wind power generation grew even faster than global electricity demand.
By mid-2025, the share of solar power was already very high in several countries. In Hungary, it bordered on 30%, and in Greece and the Netherlands it exceeded 25%. This transition has already acquired momentum that makes it increasingly insulated from political and geopolitical shifts.
Of particular note is the solar energy boom in Pakistan. In the first quarter of 2021, the country generated less than 5% of its electricity from solar power, but over the same period in 2025, that share had risen to over 20%. Notably, this revolution was driven by market forces, not climate policy.
In just three years, grid electricity rates in Pakistan rose by 155%, making it unaffordable for many households and businesses. Meanwhile, solar panels fell in price by 50% due to overproduction in China and the temporary suspension of import duties and sales tax in Pakistan. As a result, households and businesses began installing small-scale solar power systems, making the country one of the world’s largest importers of solar panels.