The global energy transition has entered a decisive new phase. Renewable energy deployment continues to break records, technology costs have fallen significantly and electrification is advancing across transport, buildings and industry.

However, the World Energy Transition Outlook 2026 finds that this progress remains too slow and uneven. The central challenge is increasingly one of accelerating implementation: scaling renewable energy, electrification, energy efficiency, grids, storage and flexibility together, while maintaining energy security, affordability and public acceptance.

Under IRENA’s revised 1.5°C Scenario, electricity’s share of global final energy consumption would rise from around 23% today to 35% by 2035 and more than 50% by 2050, supported by around 18.4 terawatts (TW) of renewable power capacity by 2035 and 38.2 TW by 2050. By 2050, electricity would account for around 77% of final energy use in buildings, 47% in transport and 42% in industry, with sustainable bioenergy, renewable hydrogen and other sustainable fuels complementing direct electrification in hard-to-abate contexts. Delivering this transformation would also require a major expansion of grids, storage and flexibility, alongside more than USD 256-trillion in cumulative investment and expenditure between 2026 and 2050 (i.e. around 10.3-trillion/year).

The Outlook shows that there is a common goal, but no universal pathway for all countries and regions, all of which are proceeding from different starting points in their respective energy transitions. By 2050, electricity would account for around 64% of final energy consumption in the European Union, around 53% in ASEAN, and close to 50% in both Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, reflecting their different resource endowments and development priorities.

The quality of the transition matters as much as its pace: a 1.5°C-compatible pathway could raise average global GDP by around 1.1% relative to current plans, generating around USD 47-trillion in cumulative gains by 2050; but affordability, social protection, skills and equitable access to new economic opportunities must be built into implementation from the outset. Integrated national and regional planning will be essential to translate global ambition into pathways tailored to country and regional circumstances.

Report by the International Renewable Energy Agency