The World Turns to Wind and Sun - While Trump Bets on Coal

Renewables just surpassed coal on the global grid, as Trump doubles down on fossil fuel.

Anthony Davis Oct 8

Something remarkable happened this year, and you probably didn’t see it splashed across cable news. For the first time in history, the world’s wind and solar farms generated more electricity than coal. It’s a quiet revolution, but one that may define the century ahead.

According to new data from the climate think tank Ember, renewable energy has finally outpaced fossil fuels in meeting the world’s growing appetite for power. In the first half of 2025, solar production jumped by nearly a third compared to last year, while wind generation rose more than 7%. Together, renewables supplied 83 percent of the increase in global electricity demand, enough to cause a small but historic decline in coal and gas use.

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Contrary to Donald Trump’s claims, much of this progress has been driven by Asia’s two largest economies. China added more renewable capacity than the rest of the world combined, cutting its fossil fuel use by 2 percent in just six months. India grew its renewables more than three times faster than its electricity demand, reducing coal and gas use by 3.1 and 34 percent, respectively.

The International Energy Agency projects that this trend will only accelerate. By 2030, global renewable power could more than double, with solar energy alone making up 80 percent of that growth. Solar will dominate the expansion, but wind, hydropower, and bioenergy will all play supporting roles. Solar is also set to surge in economies like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and across Southeast Asia.

While much of the world races toward renewables, Trump, a climate change denier, is moving in the opposite direction. Electricity demand at home has outpaced the growth of clean energy, forcing a 17 percent increase in coal generation in the first half of this year. Then came another blow: on August 29, the Trump regime canceled twelve Biden-era transportation grants tied to offshore wind projects, diverting $679 million in funds to “other priorities.” The grants had been awarded under the Federal Highway Administration’s INFRA program and the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program, both designed to modernize ports and enable large-scale wind infrastructure.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy defended the move, falsely claiming, “We are prioritizing real infrastructure improvements over fantasy wind projects that cost much and offer little.” The decision fits neatly into Trump’s broader energy playbook: revive coal, dismantle clean energy initiatives, and undermine international climate cooperation. It’s a vision rooted not in innovation but in nostalgia - for an economy and energy system that no longer exists.

While some leaders retreat to old habits, others are learning the hard truth that there are no shortcuts to decarbonization. Carbon offset programs, once hailed as a market-friendly solution to climate change, have largely failed. Research found that most offset projects either exaggerated their impact or credited emissions reductions that never truly happened. Some funded wind farms that would have been built anyway; others claimed forest protection while logging simply moved next door.

The implication is clear: you can’t outsource your way to a stable climate. The renewables surge, by contrast, is tangible. Wind turbines spin. Solar panels hum. The electricity flows. This is not an accounting trick or a line item on a balance sheet - it’s physical progress, measurable and immediate. And once the infrastructure is in place, energy prices will come down. Any negative headlines about climate initiatives, electric vehicles etc have been planted by the fossil fuel industry - they’ve been at this for years.

For the first time, clean energy is not a niche story or a promise for the future. It’s the backbone of the world’s power system, displacing fossil fuels in real time. And it’s happening despite political resistance, not because of it. If the past year marks the moment renewables overtook coal, it may also mark the moment political will fell behind technological reality. The world is racing toward clean power, but America, under Trump, is set to be left far behind.

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