Since 2019, the rapid expansion of clean energy technologies has cut global demand for fossil fuels by a significant margin, preventing the need for more than 35 exajoules of traditional energy in 2025 alone. This reduction is roughly equal to the total energy used by all of Latin America and represents about 7% of the world’s annual fossil fuel use, according to the authors of the newly released report.
The report states that “The rollout of clean energy technologies since 2019 avoided more than 35 exajoules of annual fossil fuel demand in 2025, equivalent to around 7% of global fossil fuel use annually.” It further notes that “The deployment of these technologies displaced over 23 EJ of coal, more than 9 EJ of natural gas, and around 3 EJ of oil in 2025.”
In simpler terms, the adoption of tools like solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles has effectively taken the place of a massive volume of coal, oil, and gas that would have otherwise been burned. The amount of coal saved through these technologies is so vast that it exceeds the entire energy requirement of a major nation like India, showing that clean alternatives are now doing the heavy lifting that was once solely the job of fossil fuels.
The report “Global Energy Review 2026” was published by the International Energy Agency in France in April 2026. Prepared by the IEA’s Energy Modelling Office under the direction of Laura Cozzi, the comprehensive study was led by authors Alex Martinos and Thomas Spencer.
