Dawn of a New Energy Era: United Nations Secretary-General Guterres Declares Fossil Fuels Are Fading as Clean Energy Surges Ahead
In a compelling address delivered at the United Nations Headquarters, UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared a pivotal moment in the global energy transition, calling it both “unstoppable” and “a shift in possibility.” The speech, titled “A Moment of Opportunity: Supercharging the Clean Energy Age,” marked a powerful follow-up to last year’s Moment of Truth and underscored the critical momentum behind clean energy worldwide.
Speaking against the backdrop of a new UN technical report developed with major global energy and finance bodies, Mr. Guterres pointed to a transformative trend: investment in clean energy has soared to $2 trillion — outpacing fossil fuels by $800 billion and growing nearly 70% over the last decade.
“Just follow the money,” he urged, highlighting that clean technologies like solar and wind are no longer the expensive alternatives — they are now the economic front-runners. In fact, solar energy is now 41% cheaper than fossil fuels, and offshore wind has dropped in cost by 53%.
More than 90% of newly added power capacity globally came from renewables last year, nearly matching fossil fuels in overall installed capacity — a historic milestone.
“This is not just a shift in power. It is a shift in possibility,” Guterres said, asserting that “a clean energy future is no longer a promise, it is a fact.”
“The Fossil Fuel Era Is Failing”
In his speech, Mr. Guterres did not hold back criticism of the fossil fuel lobby, which he warned would “try everything” to delay the transition. But his tone remained resolute: “I have never been more confident that they will fail. We have passed the point of no return.”
Citing price shocks from the war in Ukraine, he added,
“The greatest threat to energy security today is fossil fuels… There are no price spikes for sunlight, no embargoes on wind.”
Guterres emphasized the geopolitical and economic risks of fossil fuel dependence, urging a pivot toward real energy sovereignty through renewables.
The Road Ahead: 6 Key Opportunities
The Secretary-General laid out six strategic opportunity areas to rapidly accelerate the energy transition:
- Ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) — Countries must align their climate targets with the 1.5°C pathway.
- Modern Grid Infrastructure — Upgrading power systems for efficiency and storage.
- Sustainable Energy Demand Growth — Meeting rising needs without compromising the planet.
- A Just Transition — Ensuring jobs, livelihoods, and local communities are not left behind.
- Trade and Supply Chain Reforms — Making clean-tech more accessible globally.
- Financing the Transition — Especially for emerging economies.
But he warned that financing remains the biggest choke point. Africa — home to 60% of the world’s solar potential — received only 2% of clean energy investment last year. Outside of China, just one in five dollars of clean energy funding went to developing countries over the past decade.
Guterres called for urgent reform of global finance systems, including debt relief, stronger multilateral banks, and debt-for-climate swaps, to enable wider participation in the green transition.
A Global Call to Action
He concluded with a powerful appeal to global leaders, especially the G20 nations (which account for 80% of emissions), to submit ambitious new climate plans by September, including doubling energy efficiency and tripling renewables by 2030.
“The fossil fuel age is flailing and failing. We are in the dawn of a new energy era,” Guterres affirmed.
“That world is within reach — but it won’t happen on its own. Not fast enough. Not fair enough. It is up to us. This is our moment of opportunity.”