11 charts that plot the climate trajectory from Generation’s latest Sustainability Trends Report

When it comes to climate action, is society moving in the right direction?

That’s the question asked by Generation Investment Management as a decade after launching its first Sustainability Trends report. Its latest report, released today, takes stock of global progress over that time.

On the plus side of the ledger: projected warming in 2100 has come down from a full degree to to 2.6 C; the clean share of global electricity generation is up to 42.6% from 33.5%; the global share of EVs has grown 25-fold to 25%; and clean energy investment surpassed and is now double that of fossil fuel investment.  

Global greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel subsidies, carbon emission from buildings, the CO2 intensity of steel, and tropical primary forest loss have all gone in the wrong direction. 

For every step forward, it seems, there are two steps back. But the disruptions to oil shipments and other key commodities from the Ukraine and Gulf conflicts may decisively shift the trajectory.

The geopolitical and economic shocks “have accentuated the importance of continuing and accelerating the renewable energy revolution,” Generation’s Al Gore says in video remarks introducing the report, and “highlighted the instability and vulnerability associated with the world’s decision to rely on fossil fuels for 80% of its energy.”

In just the first quarter of 2026, sales of electric heat pumps rose 17% and electric cars 30% in Europe, African imports of Chinese solar modules jumped 120%, and Indian sales of electric stoves rose by 10-fold, the report notes. 

Even in the US, where the Trump administration has tried to quash the growth of renewable energy, particularly wind power, clean energy supplied some 70% of power growth in 2025, led by increasingly cheap solar.  

“Despite some pushback in certain parts of the world, there’s been a steady drumbeat of adoption,” Generation’s Lila Preston tells ImpactAlpha.

And then there is AI. The massive spending on the data center buildout — McKinsey pegs the investment at an eye-popping $5 trillion by 2030 — “could be a massive opportunity disguised as a problem” boosting clean power as well as grid upgrades and new energy efficiency models and technology, says Generation’s Justin Gillis.

The annual report comes put as Climate Week kicks off in New York next week. The report is worth a full read, but here are 11 charts that caught our eye: 

1. Seeking alternatives. The Iran conflict has sent oil prices sharply higher, and consumers and businesses scrambling for cheaper, cleaner options. Below, percentage sales increases in the first quarter for select categories, compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

2. Clean power is making dramatic progress in Europe, Latin America and North America. This chart shows electricity generation in terawatt hours. (​‘Clean’ includes low-emissions sources, including wind, solar, bioenergy, hydropower, nuclear power and other renewables).

3. Solar Growth. Solar capacity is soaring, thanks to the rapid buildout in China and its export of cheap solar panels around the globe. Battery costs have also plunged, making it increasingly possible to power evening peaks.

4. Global electricity production. Additions of wind and solar reached record levels in 2025, driven by rapid expansion in China and sustained growth across most other markets. ​‘Other clean’ includes nuclear plants and hydroelectric generation.

5. Electric vehicles are taking off around the world. Higher gas prices are accelerating the shift.

6. Trucks go electric. Electric trucks (or, lorries, in Brit-speak) make up a fast-growing share of the Chinese market, in part because of a government-backed rapid battery-swapping system that eliminates long recharge times. In the US, Tesla has begun selling its electric semis. Sales of e-trucks are in Europe are also surging as manufacturers seek to comply with European Union regulations requiring emissions cuts.

7. Waiting for carbon capture. As the world overshoots the Paris goal of limited warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, carbon capture will be required. However, carbon capture technology is still expensive and has yet to be implemented at scale. Many projects never proceed beyond the planning stage, so its contribution to date is minimal.
8. Energy efficiency. The overall energy efficiency of the world economy is improving steadily, but not fast enough to meet a commitment that countries made at COP28 in 2023 to double the rate of improvement, as shown by the brown bar on the right. 

9. Food emergency. Fertilizer prices surged during the spring planting season as the Strait of Hormuz crisis disrupted global supplies, before retreating from their peak. With synthetic nitrogen fertilizers underpinning food production for nearly one in every two people worldwide, we may be on the verge of another global food emergency, Generation warns.

10. Clean energy funding. At $2.2 trillion, clean energy investment has dwarfed that of fossil fuels, with national security and resilience concerns driving recent growth. But at least $4.5 trillion per year is needed by the early 2030s to keep warming in check, experts say.

Source: IEA



11. Warming planet. The heat accumulating across the Earth as a result of human emissions is roughly equivalent to the energy that would be released by 800,000 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs exploding across the face of the planet every day, notes Generation. Land and ocean-based carbon sinks point to the case for nature-based solutions.