From TIME · André Corrêa do Lago · · 3m
The world reaches a fossil fuel turning point
Three years after COP28's historic agreement, countries are publishing roadmaps to phase out oil, gas and coal as renewables overtake coal as the world's leading electricity source.
In brief
Three years after COP28's historic agreement, countries are publishing roadmaps to phase out oil, gas and coal as renewables overtake coal as the world's leading electricity source. Renewables have become the world's leading electricity source, and countries including Germany are publishing roadmaps to phase out…
COP28 sets the course
Three years ago at COP28 in Dubai, 195 countries reached an unprecedented agreement by consensus to transition away from fossil fuels. Since then, extreme weather events have become more lethal, frequent and intense.
A roadmap to 2050
At COP30's closing plenary, leaders announced a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels by 2050. It examines barriers, finance, policies and different pathways, recognizing countries start from very different points.
Germany publishes its plan
Germany became the third country, after France and the Netherlands, to publish a national roadmap for transitioning away from fossil fuels. Environment Minister Carsten Schneider presented the roadmap to phase out oil, coal and gas by 2045.
The cost of fossil fuel dependence
When war disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Brent crude prices rose above one hundred dollars a barrel. Inflated oil and gas prices have cost importers an extra one point eighty-three billion dollars per day with no additional benefit.
Spain and Brazil show the way
Spain, where renewables supplied nearly sixty percent of electricity, saw prices fall while other European countries rose more than twenty percent. Brazil, with the largest proportion of renewables in the G20 energy mix, also weathered the shock far less severely.
Renewables overtake coal
In April, the global energy think tank Ember confirmed that renewables overtook coal as the world's leading source of electricity in 2025. This marks the clearest evidence yet that we have reached a positive tipping point for power systems.
Jobs and investment follow
According to the United Nations, every dollar invested in renewable energy creates up to three times as many jobs as a dollar invested in fossil fuels. Southeast Asian countries have released four times more long-term renewable energy policies than fossil fuel policies since the war.
Doubling renewable capacity
In 2025, the world added more renewable electricity capacity than in any previous year. To meet global imperatives, renewable power deployment must double in the next four years to strengthen energy security and boost competitiveness.
COP31 sets new targets
The incoming COP31 Presidency has proposed increasing electricity's share of global energy use to thirty-five percent by 2035. At COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, countries will strengthen credible plans for clean electrification within wider energy and economic strategies.
Business and finance must act
Business must match government commitments with capital, technology and training. International financial institutions must help countries facing high borrowing costs secure affordable finance. Workers and communities affected by the transition need support to share in its benefits.
The short version
Renewables have become the world's leading electricity source, and countries including Germany are publishing roadmaps to phase out fossil fuels, showing the transition is becoming reality.
