The World Moved to Clean Power in 2025 — Canada Didn't Keep Up
A landmark new report from energy think tank Ember has found that renewable energy sources met every single unit of new electricity demand added globally in 2025 — a historic milestone that signals the world's power grids are finally turning a corner on fossil fuels.
Wind and solar led the way, generating enough new electricity to absorb all growth in global demand without burning an extra molecule of coal or gas. It's the kind of progress climate scientists have been waiting decades to see. The catch? Canada isn't quite keeping pace.
What the Report Actually Found
The Ember Global Electricity Review analyzed power generation data from over 80 countries. The headline finding: renewables didn't just grow in 2025 — they grew fast enough to prevent any net increase in fossil fuel electricity generation for the first time on record.
Solar power in particular is expanding at a speed that's surprised even optimistic analysts, with costs continuing to fall and installations accelerating across Europe, China, and parts of the United States. Wind energy followed closely, with offshore wind projects scaling rapidly in the UK and northern Europe.
The result is that in much of the developed world, new coal and gas plants are simply no longer being built — because wind and solar are cheaper and faster to deploy.
Where Canada Stands
Canada starts from a stronger baseline than most — roughly 80 per cent of the country's electricity already comes from non-emitting sources, largely thanks to hydroelectric power in Quebec, British Columbia, and Manitoba. On paper, that looks great.
But the Ember report highlights a different problem: the pace of new wind and solar buildout. While Canada has massive renewable potential — some of the best wind corridors in the world, and vast solar capacity in the Prairies — the rate of new project development has lagged behind comparable nations.
Permitting delays, grid interconnection bottlenecks, and interprovincial coordination challenges have all slowed the pipeline. Meanwhile, provinces like Alberta and Ontario are still grappling with natural gas generation playing a significant role in their grids.
Why This Matters Now
Global electricity demand is set to surge in the coming decade, driven by EV adoption, data centres, and the electrification of heating and industry. The countries that build out clean capacity now will be better positioned — economically and environmentally — than those that wait.
For Canada, the stakes are particularly high. The federal government has committed to a net-zero electricity grid by 2035. Meeting that target will require an unprecedented acceleration of wind, solar, and storage projects — along with the transmission lines to move that power where it's needed.
Energy experts point to federal-provincial coordination as the single biggest unlock. Electricity is largely a provincial jurisdiction, which means Ottawa can set targets but provinces control the build.
The Opportunity Ahead
The good news: the economics have never been better. Solar panels and wind turbines are cheaper than at any point in history. Battery storage costs are falling fast. And Canada has no shortage of land, wind, or sun.
The Ember report isn't a verdict — it's a warning and an opportunity. The global energy transition is happening with or without Canada. The question is whether the country will lead it, follow it, or get left behind.
Source: CBC Top Stories / Ember Global Electricity Review 2025
