Renewable electricity generation expanded at its fastest pace in years in 2024, strengthening the global transition from fossil fuels. But Africa’s poor participation and value addition underscore the continent’s persistent infrastructure and investment challenges despite its vast clean energy potential.

New data released yesterday by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) showed that renewable electricity generation rose by 9.8 per cent in 2024, far outpacing the 1.4 per cent growth recorded by non-renewable sources.

Renewable energy accounted for 31.7 per cent of global electricity generation, producing 9,836 terawatt hours (TWh).

The figures come as the incoming COP31 Presidency held by Türkiye unveiled an ambitious target to raise global electrification to 35 per cent of final energy demand by 2035, signalling a stronger international push to decarbonise buildings, transport and industry through clean electricity.

However, IRENA warned that meeting this goal would require renewable electricity to supply 78 per cent of global electricity by 2035, roughly two-and-a-half times its current share, highlighting the scale of investment and policy reforms still required.

While Asia consolidated its position as the engine of the global energy transition, generating 4,589 TWh of renewable electricity in 2024, Africa produced only 227 TWh, representing a 5.7 per cent increase across all renewable sources except geothermal energy.

The figures illustrate a widening gap between regions that are rapidly scaling renewable deployment and Africa, where abundant solar, wind and hydropower resources remain constrained by inadequate transmission infrastructure, limited access to affordable financing, weak manufacturing capacity and regulatory bottlenecks.

For African economies, the findings present both a warning and an opportunity as the continent remains home to nearly 600 million people without access to electricity, yet possesses some of the world’s richest renewable energy resources.

IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera said the latest data demonstrate that renewable electricity has become the cornerstone of the global energy transition.

“The world is rallying behind electrification as a cornerstone of the energy transition, with renewable electricity as its driving force,” he said, noting that technologies are available and the economics increasingly favour clean power over fossil fuels.

Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Simon Stiell, described the latest figures as evidence that the clean energy transition is becoming irreversible, following commitments reached by countries at COP30.

He, however, cautioned that progress remains uneven, stressing that vulnerable countries particularly in Africa and other developing regions would require significantly greater climate finance to participate fully in the transition.

Beyond electricity generation, IRENA also revised its renewable capacity statistics, showing that global renewable installations reached a record 693 gigawatts in 2025, lifting total installed renewable capacity to 5.2 terawatts, or 49.5 per cent of global power capacity.