PARIS: Global emissions rose at a slower rate in 2025 as the expansion of solar power helped developing countries offset emissions growth in advanced economies, led by the United States, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in a report.
Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rose 0.4% in 2025, slowing from recent years as a boom in solar power supply dominated changes in the supply mix.
Overall global energy demand growth eased to 1.3%, just below the average of the previous decade, while gas demand growth slowed sharply because of relatively high prices in the first half of the year.
The data included a reversal of a long-term trend, with advanced economies recording their first annual rise in emissions since 2018.
This was led by the United States, which relied more heavily on coal-generated electricity amid high gas prices.
US energy demand growth reached its second-highest level since 2000, excluding post-recession rebound years, driven by strong electricity demand from data centres, robust industrial growth and colder temperatures, the IEA said.
In China, which the IEA classifies as a developing economy, emissions fell as the country led additions of solar capacity.
Emissions in India fell during normal economic conditions for the first time on record, having previously decreased only in the pandemic year of 2020 and during the oil shocks of the 1970s, largely because of a strong monsoon season and increased renewable generation.
Beyond the annual data, the IEA stressed that its mandate goes far beyond monitoring trends.
The agency has increasingly positioned itself as a central coordinator in global decarbonisation efforts, advising governments on policy design, mapping credible pathways to net‑zero emissions and pushing for faster deployment of renewables, efficiency measures and clean‑tech investment.
Through its flagship Net-Zero Roadmap and country‑level energy transition reviews, the global energy agency has sought to steer both advanced and developing economies towards structural emissions cuts, arguing that sustained progress will depend on aligning policy, finance and technology at a far greater scale than today. — Reuters
