43% of global electricity is generated from Low Carbon in 2025/2026

From July 2025 to June 2026, global low-carbon electricity generation reached around 13,570 TWh, supplying more than two-fifths of global electricity consumption—about 43%. That compares with roughly 8,600 TWh and 34% in 2016: an increase of almost 5,000 TWh, or 58%, and just over nine percentage points in electricity share. This substantial expansion of clean electricity is encouraging, although fossil fuels still supply the majority of electricity worldwide. Continued growth in low-carbon generation, including wind, nuclear and solar, is essential to support electrification and rising electricity demand from AI while reducing emissions.

Leadership looks different depending on the measure. People's Republic of China generates around 4,600 TWh of low-carbon electricity, more than twice the United States total, and also leads five-year additions with over 1,800 TWh added; the United States added nearly 400 TWh and India around 215 TWh. These are the largest absolute increases, rather than percentage growth rates. Brazil stands out for combining substantial output—around 660 TWh—with a low-carbon electricity share of roughly 86%. Albania, Paraguay, Ethiopia and Central African Republic reach 100%, while Sweden is close to that level. Norway leads generation per person at nearly 27,000 kWh, compared with a global average of about 1,650 kWh; Sweden and Finland also stand out at around 15,000 and 14,000 kWh per person. Among US states, Texas leads low-carbon output at 250 TWh, but California and Illinois achieve higher low-carbon shares: around 57% and 68%, respectively, versus 41% in Texas.

The climate advantage of this growing electricity supply is clear in the IPCC lifecycle figures: wind, nuclear, hydro, geothermal and solar span just 11–45 gCO2eq/kWh, compared with 490 gCO2eq/kWh for gas, 650 gCO2eq/kWh for oil and 820 gCO2eq/kWh for coal. Biofuels, also counted as low-carbon in this dataset, have a lifecycle intensity of around 230 gCO2eq/kWh. The main contrast is therefore between clean electricity technologies and the much higher emissions of fossil-fuel generation. Expanding low-carbon electricity—especially nuclear and solar alongside wind and other clean sources—can build on the past decade’s nearly 5,000 TWh gain, helping limit climate change and reduce the air pollution associated with fossil-fuel combustion.