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Climate: Solar And Wind Power’s ‘Unstoppable’ Global Growth

July 28, 2025
08:15 AM
10 min read
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wealthfinancialclean energysustainabilitymarket cyclesseasonal analysispolicy

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In this week's Current Climate newsletter, U.N. reports say clean energy hits a global tipping point; NYC congestion pricing is working; danger for the Endangerment Finding

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investment

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July 28, 2025

08:15 AM

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wealthfinancialclean energysustainabilitymarket cyclesseasonal analysispolicy

Re suggests that InnovationTransportationEditors' PickClimate: Solar And Wind Power’s ‘Unstoppable’ Global Growth Plus: New York’s congestion pricing is curbing auto traffic; the Endangerment Finding is in danger ByAlan Ohnsman, Forbes Staff

Senior editor covering clean and advanced mobility AuthorJul 28, 2025, 08:15am EDTCurrent Climate brings you the news the of sustainability every Monday

Meanwhile, To get it in your inbox

AFP via Getty Images For decades, big shifts in U

Policy have set the standard for the rest of the world

But when it comes to the Trump Administration’s efforts to accelerate the use of oil, gas and coal, there’s little indication the world will

There’s a simple reason: solar, wind and other renewable power sources are cheaper and their capabilities are growing much faster than fossil fuels (something worth watching)

A new assessment by the U. ’s International Renewable Energy Agency found that 91% of clean energy jects added in 2024 were cheaper to build and operate than those using fossil fuels, given current economic conditions

However, An estimated $2 trillion was invested in clean energy last year, or $800 billion more than for new fossil fuel jects, a 70% increase over the past decade

Furthermore, And on average, solar power systems were 41% less expensive than the cheapest fossil fuel alternative, while onshore wind jects were 53% less costly, the report found

Overall, wind was the cheapest source of new renewable electricity last year, averaging 34 cents per kilowatt hour, ed by solar at 43 cents/kWh

Globally, a record 582 gigawatts of renewable electricity capacity was added in 2024, resulting in $57 billion in cost savings, according to IRENA (remarkable data) (noteworthy indeed)

Furthermore, Beyond cost and climate benefits, increased use of renewable power also helps boost the energy security of individual nations, particularly those that are resource-poor, by reducing their dependence on imported fossil fuels, given current economic conditions. “The energy transition is unstoppable, but the transition is not yet fast enough or fair enough,” said UN Secretary‑General António Guterres, amid market uncertainty. “This's not just a shift in power (quite telling)

Conversely, It's a shift in possibility. ” Even in the U (which is quite significant). , clean energy jects continue apace

Though President Trump’s new budget eliminates federal incentives for large-scale solar and wind jects in the U, considering recent developments. , those changes phase in over the next two years, giving big utilities time to add more capacity in the near term

This year alone, a record 32. 5 gigawatts of utility-scale solar will ly be added to the domestic grid, along with 7. 7 GWs of wind power and 18. 2 GWs of new battery storage capacity, according to an Energy Information Administration estimate

By comparison, just 4 (which is quite significant). 4 GWs of new gas-fired power will ly be added

Clean power “is no longer a mise, it is a fact” that can’t be stopped, Guterres said (fascinating analysis). “The fossil fuel lobby will try, and we know the lengths to which they will go

Meanwhile, But, I have never been more confident that they will fail because we have passed the point of no return, amid market uncertainty. ” The Big ReadNewsday via Getty Images New York City’s Congestion Pricing Is Working The data from TomTom shows that New York City’s congestion pricing is working as planned

Real-time traffic patterns from January through mid-July indicate that downtown Manhattan has experienced a notable decrease in motor vehicle congestion and a corresponding drop in travel times

However, The amount of time drivers spend in rush hour has decreased, and average speeds for motorists in their cars have increased

Congestion decreased by nearly 4% year over year in the first four months of 2025, from 26

Travel times for motorists decreased by 90 seconds per six miles as average car speeds increased slightly from 16

However, 3 km/h to 17

In contrast, 1 km/h (note: motorists still have average speeds slower than many bicyclists)

July congestion continued to drop, from 24, in light of current trends

Furthermore, 3%, with only half the month measured (which is quite significant)

Introduced on January 5, 2025, NYC’s congestion toll was the first of its kind in the United States (this bears monitoring), amid market uncertainty

The scheme requires drivers to pay a fee—based on the time and duration of their visit and their vehicle type—to enter the lower part of Manhattan, from the southern end of Central Park to the city’s financial district

Moreover, Read more here Hot TopicCopyright 2023 The Associated Press

Additionally, All rights reserved

Additionally, Rachel Cleetus, Union of Concerned Scientists’ senior policy director, and UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain on the possibility of the EPA abandoning the “Endangerment Finding” and its efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions (Note: “On Monday, June 30, 2025, EPA sent over its ‘Reconsideration of 2009 Endangerment Finding and Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards’ posal to the Office of Management and Budget,” an EPA spokesperson told Forbes. “The posal will be published for public notice and once it has interagency review and been signed by the Administrator. ”) What impact do you anticipate from the elimination of the Endangerment Finding, in today's financial world

Cleetus: We need to see what's in the actual posal, what exactly they're going to say, given current economic conditions

But it's so in this case that there's no rational basis to undermine or overturn the Endangerment Finding or to roll back all of these regulations that are meant to tect public health, in this volatile climate

Of course, this would be challenged in a variety of ways, including just the science, putting forward what is the science, which is even more dire and compelling since the 2009 Endangerment Finding

That record, the science is very, very and there will be a variety of challenges to what EPA puts forward

Nevertheless, But we need to see what's in the actual posal, how exactly they are setting up this evasion of their responsibility

If this happens and is upheld in court, is there any ability at the state or local level in the U, given current economic conditions

To maintain certain aspects of climate-oriented regulations

Cleetus: I don't want to speculate too far into the future because we don't know what EPA will release, given current economic conditions

What I can say is this administration and the EPA has shown itself to not care public health at all and to be boosting fossil fuels in every way it can

Furthermore, And not only that, they are really overreaching in ways that go beyond what's legally their mandate to do

We have not seen Congress stand up strongly

We're a democracy, and there are supposed to be checks and balances, given the current landscape

The courts have a role, Congress has a role, and policymakers are supposed to be looking out for the public interest

As far as what comes next, I think anybody who cares public health and welfare understands that climate change is a reality and it’s on our doorstep, in light of current trends

However, Wherever you in this country, it is showing up in your community (remarkable data)

Additionally, There's no denying it (an important development)

This's not a political issue

Furthermore, It doesn't matter if you're in a Red state or a Blue state

However, These climate impacts are being experienced by communities everywhere in this country

So any policymaker who's looking out for their constituents, any lawmaker who's thinking the public has to take it seriously, amid market uncertainty

Given the increasing frequency of severe weather events fueled by a changing climate, how does eliminating the Endangerment Finding at this time strike you

Swain: As everyone else has characterized it–anyone who knows anything climate change or climate policy or carbon emissions or extreme weather or anything else–it would effectively end the federal government's ability to regulate greenhouse gases as a pollutant that can cause harm

Moreover, That's a big deal because it is the primary regulatory or legal mechanism by which the federal government has done so in many cases in recent years

We've already seen dramatic rollbacks in other pollution regulations, dramatic rollbacks and support for green energy and for expanding the electrical grid and everything else, so this is on top of all of that

Meanwhile, Practically speaking, the U

Is only one country of course

Additionally, In contrast, This doesn’t affect any other country's regulations of greenhouse gases

Is one of the largest global emitters

On the other hand, And it has historically been a role model for much of the rest of the world in large-scale environmental policies

At the same time, I think this marks the end of that era pretty definitively

However, We're seeing, in general, far more extreme heat events, even more record-shattering heat events

We're seeing more extreme downpours of rain the ones we've seen in Texas and so many different places around the country this summer

And we are seeing intensification of hurricanes and of wildfires

However, Is not the only global emitter and the U, in light of current trends

Does not control global climate policy, it is still bad news to the extent that it raises the potential of extra fractions of a degree of warming this century, even just based on what's happening in the U. , because it slows gress in a very important country from a global perspective

It also sends a signal globally that not everyone is cooperating, and that signal of cooperation itself is an important part of getting buy-in from all nations

San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images What Else We’re Reading Trump cancels $4. 9 billion loan for the biggest U

Transmission line ject, in today's financial world

The Grain Belt Express was to bring huge amounts of cheap wind and solar from the plains to the East (Canary Media) The International Court of Justice says wealthy nations must curb global warming

On the other hand, The UN court said they must address climate change’s “urgent and existential threat" (Reuters) California needs a little less farmland – and a lot more solar power (Los Angeles Times) An electricity affordability crisis is coming (noteworthy indeed)

It sure looks that way, at least (Heatmap) As U (fascinating analysis)

Additionally, Retreats on climate, China and Europe are going green together, in this volatile climate

Nevertheless, They mise new efforts to cut emissions as China positions itself as the world’s one-stop shop for clean energy (New York Times) How a California cloud-seeding company became the center of a Texas flood conspiracy

Additionally, Rainmaker was accused of causing the flood after conducting operations in the area (Los Angeles Times) More From ForbesForbesWith Tariffs Looming, Automakers’ EV Incentives Are BoomingBy Jim GorzelanyForbesChina, India’s Coal Usage Ders Energy Transition Reality CheckBy Gaurav SharmaForbesSolid-State Batteries Still Face Hurdles But The Prize Is Huge For EVsBy Neil Winton Got a tip (an important development)

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