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By Jack Graham | Climate Journalist

A clean energy future?

You might have missed it in a busy news week, but something important happened the other day:

Renewable energy overtook coal as the world's biggest electricity source. For the first time ever.

Thanks to a surge in solar power, renewables supplanted coal in the global energy mix [[link removed]] in the first half of this year, according to the think-tank Ember Energy.

I asked Gareth Redmond-King of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a UK-based think-tank, what was driving the change.

"This is now being driven by market imperatives," he told me. "Profit lies in a clean energy future, whilst a fossil fuel future contains only growing costs."

In other words, renewables are more affordable than ever and, despite a backlash against clean energy in some parts of the world, the horse has bolted.

Within the global data, though, there are warning signs. Since Donald Trump's presidency, for example, the International Energy Agency's forecast for U.S. renewable energy growth between now and 2030 has been revised down by nearly 50% [[link removed]].

Thomson Reuters Foundation/Jack Graham

Redmond-King said global renewables momentum was "leaving the U.S. behind", pointing out that U.S. fossil fuel exports of $80 billion were much smaller [[link removed]] than China's clean energy tech exports of $120 billion. [[link removed]]

An increasing amount of those exports are heading to Africa [[link removed]], where the solar boom is just showing signs of beginning. [[link removed]]

In South Africa, my colleague Kim Harrisberg found a coal community [[link removed]] where a new village could provide a model.

Solar City

In Nomzamo, a settlement in South Africa's coal heartland [[link removed]] of just 412 households, a solar project has provided locals with a glimpse into a renewable future.

While the country has struggled to speed up [[link removed]] its energy transition, a project by local charities has replaced a dangerous, unrehabilitated open-pit coal mine with a settlement with access to clean power.

I asked Kim what it was like visiting the settlement, five years after first reporting on the area for a story on coal mining and climate change [[link removed]].

"As journalists, we see a lot of things that don’t work, so seeing Nomzamo’s solar initiative succeeding - despite it being small in size - was a really heartwarming reporting trip,” she said.

Zethu Hlatshwayo, Khuthala's spokesperson, points to Nomzamo from a viewpoint, Ermelo, South Africa, July 9, 2025. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Kim Harrisberg

Funded by New Zealand, France and Denmark, the project has brought solar bricks - a stackable lithium-ion battery charged by the sun - to more than 400 homes in two years to power their lights and cell phones.

It's not a perfect solution - some residents still rely on illegal connections to the coal-powered grid - but could become a model for how to shift away from coal locally.

"If Nomzamo, in the coal heartlands, can accept that coal has an expiry date and renewables are a part of their future - then most parts of South Africa can do the same,” Kim told me.

More broadly, the outlook is less glossy. Countries in Africa are far behind leaders like China and India in clean energy production.

"Emerging economies face real challenges replacing coal whilst expanding energy access and meeting growing energy demand," said Julia Skorupska, head of the secretariat of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, a global coalition of governments and businesses.

Global South countries can accelerate the transition to clean power with international support, but early planning and strong policies are needed, she told me.

Will communities like Nomzamo get the support they need from their governments to take advantage of the continent's huge solar potential?

What happens in the next few years will be crucial, and we'll be watching closely.

See you next time,

Jack

This week's top picks Small solar city emerges in South Africa's coal heartland [[link removed]]

Coal mine turned solar project lauded as a green success story, but experts want more investment to boost jobs

How can U.S. cities keep up climate action under Trump? [[link removed]]

Trump's moves and funding cuts to limit climate action have been aggressive, but local governments still have significant powers

How flood control projects fail the poor in the Philippines [[link removed]]

Poor construction, corruption and 'ghost' flood control projects plague disaster mitigation efforts in the Philippines

Read all of our coverage here [[link removed]] Food for thought [[link removed]] Curtains for the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ [[link removed]]

We're used to hearing some wacky climate solutions, and this one is particularly bold.

A recent story in environmental news outlet Mongabay revealed that scientists will be travelling to Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier in January to research the potential of using a giant sea curtain to protect it from warm waters.

Roughly the size of Britain, if the glacier melts it would rapidly accelerate sea level rise - hence its nickname: the "Doomsday Glacier". Some say these “geoengineering” solutions are a distraction, but others argue it's worth a shot.

[[link removed]]Discover more Nature [[link removed]] Climate Risks [[link removed]] Net Zero [[link removed]] Just Transition [[link removed]] Climate Justice [[link removed]] Green Cities [[link removed]] Thank you for reading!

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