Gas growth slows as clean power dominates new demand growth
Gas share in the global electricity mix fell for the fifth consecutive year in 2025, declining from 23.9% in 2020 to 21.8% in 2025. While gas generation rose slightly in absolute terms, growth has slowed sharply as solar and wind increasingly meet rising electricity demand.
In 2025, solar generation grew by 636 TWh, 17 times more than gas generation, which rose by just 38 TWh. Solar alone accounted for around 75% of new global electricity demand growth in 2025, while gas contributed only around 5%.
Gas growth during 2021-2025 was around half the rate seen during 2016-2020, reflecting the diminishing role of gas in meeting new electricity demand globally.
“The economics and energy security case for electricity are increasingly moving in the same direction,” said Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, Senior Electricity Analyst at Ember. “As renewables lower costs while reducing exposure to fuel price shocks and geopolitical disruptions, gas is steadily losing the advantages that once made it the default fuel for power system growth.”
Energy security concerns reshape the role of gas
The report argues that conditions that once supported gas as a transition fuel have changed significantly in recent years. Geopolitical disruptions have reinforced the decline in gas by exposing the volatility and energy security risks of import-dependent systems. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 drove major disruptions and price spikes, accelerating renewable deployment in Europe and Asia, with recent LNG shocks linked to the 2026 Middle East conflict further reinforcing the shift.
“Recent geopolitical crises highlighted the risks of relying on imported gas,” said Wiatros-Motyka. “Countries are increasingly turning to renewables because they are domestically available, more price stable and faster to deploy.”
The analysis shows that gas growth is becoming increasingly concentrated geographically. The US alone accounted for 26% of global gas generation in 2025 and was the largest driver of global gas growth over the last decade.
Among G7 countries, gas generation fell by 50 TWh in 2025, while renewables grew by 123 TWh. Renewables generated almost as much electricity as gas across the G7 in 2025, leading to clean power overall overtaking fossil generation.
Emerging economies expand electricity access with limited gas growth
The analysis also finds that some of the world’s largest electricity markets are meeting growing demand without significant reliance on gas. China, India and Brazil accounted for around 42% of global electricity demand in 2025, yet continued to rely only minimally on gas in their power systems.
India’s gas share in the electricity mix fell from 12.6% in 2010 to just 2.3% in 2025, while in Brazil the gas share peaked in 2014 at 13.7% of the mix, and currently stands at 7.3%. China maintained a relatively small gas share of around 3% despite massive electricity demand growth.
Recent energy crises are accelerating a longer-term shift away from imported fossil fuels as countries increasingly prioritise domestically produced clean electricity for affordability, security and competitiveness. With nearly half of gas-generating economies already past peak gas power and clean technologies scaling rapidly, the world appears to be moving closer to peak gas power generation.
