Asia Drives Global Renewable Energy Growth in 2024, While Other Regions Lag Behind
- Energy Box
- 34 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Despite a 15% increase in global renewable energy capacity in 2024, significant regional imbalances remain, widening the gap in the global energy transition.
According to Renewable Energy Statistics 2025, published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Asia continues to dominate clean energy deployment, accounting for 71% of all new renewable capacity additions last year. Europe followed with 12.3%, and North America contributed 7.8%.
In contrast, other regions such as Africa, Eurasia, Central America, and the Caribbean collectively accounted for only 2.8% of global additions. Specifically, Africa managed just a 7.2% increase in renewable capacity, despite its vast development potential.
Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA, emphasized the urgency of closing the investment and infrastructure gap:
“Bridging the divide and closing the investment gap between countries and regions is critical. It requires targeted policies, international financing, and partnerships that unlock capital and technology where they are needed most.”
He added:
“By aligning investment flows with policy frameworks, we can ensure that the green transition becomes a powerful engine for resilience and sustainable economic growth worldwide.”
Globally, a total of 582 GW of renewable capacity was added in 2024—a record-breaking figure. The growth was overwhelmingly led by solar and wind, which accounted for 97.5% of all net additions. Solar energy saw an increase of 453 GW, while wind energy expanded by 114 GW.
Despite this record growth, IRENA warns that the current pace is still insufficient to meet the international target of tripling global renewable capacity to 11.2 terawatts (TW) by 2030. If trends remain unchanged, total capacity will reach only 10.3 TW, falling short by 0.9 TW.
IRENA estimates that to stay on track, global renewable energy capacity must grow at an annual rate of 16.6% over the remaining years to 2030—a faster pace than seen in 2024.
