Climate change is a gloomy subject. The fact that it is an existential challenge makes good news hard to find.
It is even harder since the second Trump Administration took over. He has been unwinding America's climate commitments.
US support for clean tech industries is being cut. He has yanked the biggest climate polluting nation in history out of the Paris climate agreement.
Drill-baby-drill is the new American mantra for fossil fuels.
Trump’s global tariff war, starting next Wednesday, will make matters worse.
The global value chain for clean technology is likely to take a hit.
It is a depressing time for climate activist.
This week, however, there was some good news - very good news in fact.
It is that the global renewable energy revolution is powering ahead, and the Trump administration will not be able to stop it.
New figures show the momentum in the global renewable energy transition is extremely strong and growing all the time.
In light of this new data, it is quite possible that a drill-baby-drill philosophy will only cause America to fall behind.
The figures come from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
This is the global intergovernmental agency for energy transformation, comprising 169 countries as members.
Its latest Renewable Capacity Statistics 2025 report was published on Wednesday. It confirmed record breaking levels of renewable energy capacity growth last year.
The report showed 92.5% of all the additional electricity generating capacity added worldwide was powered from renewable sources.
That is solar, hydro, wind, bioenergy, geothermal, and wave energy.
The record-breaking level follows from 2023 when renewables accounted for 85.8% of all new electricity capacity added.
Europe’s capacity rose by 9%, with Germany contributing over a quarter of that growth. Meanwhile, Africa’s grew by nearly 7%.
These are phenomenal figures.
They strongly suggest global investors have firmly made up their minds.
The fossil fuel era is on its way out and the Trump administration is not going to be able to change that.
Wind power has dropped in cost by 60% since 2010, while solar power is now 90% cheaper.
Renewable energy now accounts for almost half of total installed global power capacity.
The actual figure, according to IRENA, is 46.4% and is rising rapidly.
The report refers to a large amount of net decommission of old fossil fuel generating capacity which has been going on for many years in some regions.
As in previous years, most of the increase in renewable energy capacity last year occurred in Asia, with the greatest share being contributed by China - almost 64% of the global added capacity.
With economic competitiveness and energy security being increasingly a major global concern, expanding renewable power capacity at speed equals tapping into business opportunities and addressing energy security quickly and sustainably.
Governments have until September this year to produce new and increased climate action promises and plans.
These promises are labelled "Nationally Determined Contributions".
They are a tangible roadmap for how countries plan to meet the targets they signed up to in the Paris Climate Agreement.
It is all about the actions needed to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C.
IRENA Director-General, Francesco La Camera, called on global governments to use this as an opportunity to outline a clear blueprint for their renewable energy ambitions.
Eighteen months ago, at the COP28 global climate summit in Dubai, when governments agreed to triple renewable energy by 2030, it seemed like an impossible task.
But it does not seem as impossible anymore.
The Irena report says that reaching the global tripling target would require renewable energy to expand at an annual rate of 16.6% between now and 2030.
The growth rate actually achieved last year was over 15%.
So, although we are not there yet, we are not really that far off.
This means climate action is not a dead duck.
Just because Donald Trump and his lot are now in the White House does not mean we have to go backwards.
We are in fact still going forward and that is a very hopeful thing.
Referring to the IRENA report this week, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, called for the shift to clean energy to be accelerated.
He highlighted the new jobs, lower energy bills, and cleaner air the renewable energy revolution is bringing.
However, he said it must be fairer, with all countries given the chance to fully benefit from cheap, clean renewable power.
The UN Climate Chief, Simon Stiell, also picked up on the positive renewable energy story.
He turned it into a rallying cry for countries to double down on climate action and not be distracted by the climate policy direction taken by the Trump White House.
"As one government steps back from climate leadership, it opens up space for others to step forward and seize the vast benefits on offer", he said.
The global clean energy investment boom amounted to $2 trillion last year.
Mr Stiell said the dividends on offer are monumental.
"The clean energy transition can be Europe’s economic engine-room, now - when new sources of growth are vital to buttress living standards - and for decades to come.
By strengthening their national climate action promises and commitments this year EU Governments could send a strong signal to markets and consumers, he said.
"Done well, they are wealth magnets, pulling in huge inflows of capital investment, creating growth, and buttressing living standards, especially as populations get older."
It is all very positive stuff.
There are many who hope that governments in Europe, including our own, are listening.
