Clean energy pushes fossil-fuel power into reverse for ‘first time ever’
Renewable energy has overtaken coal to become the world’s largest source of electricity in 2025,... The post Clean energy pushes fossil-fuel power into reverse for ‘first time ever’ appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Abatify Summary
**The global shift toward renewable dominance marks a definitive decline in thermal coal dependence, directly reducing habitat degradation associated with extractive industries and cooling the global emission trajectory.**
- The displacement of coal power mitigates the localized ecological impact of acid mine drainage and heavy metal contamination in watersheds adjacent to extraction sites.
- Lowered atmospheric particulate matter from fossil fuel combustion improves the photosynthetic efficiency and carbon sequestration capacity of terrestrial LULUCF sinks.
- The transition provides the necessary atmospheric stabilization to protect vulnerable biodiversity hotspots from the most extreme baseline warming scenarios.
**As renewables become the default power source, the additionality of grid-scale renewable energy credits faces intense scrutiny under ICVCM Core Carbon Principles, shifting market focus to storage and grid flexibility.**
- The 'first time ever' reversal of fossil fuel growth challenges the financial additionality of large-scale wind and solar projects, likely disqualifying them from future CCP-labeled credit generation.
- Corporations will increasingly pivot from basic offsets to high-integrity I-RECs and 24/7 carbon-free energy matching to meet evolving SBTi and Scope 2 accounting standards.
- National registries are expected to accelerate Article 6.2 bilateral agreements to trade ITMOs derived from grid-greening initiatives as fossil fuel baselines become obsolete.
