Clean and green: the new normal

• Green energy is now cost-competitive with fossil fuel industries¹
• Consumer demand for green industries is so strong that sustainability is emerging as a baseline expectation and a competitive edge²
• Subsidies in some countries speed up adoption rates³
• Legislative changes in many jurisdictions create innovative incentives and encourage diversification into green industries⁴

In 2023, clean industries:

• Contributed 10% of GDP growth⁵
• Accounted for one-third of EU GDP growth
• Added €300 billion to the world's economy (roughly the size of the economy of Finland)
• Is a major part of China's economic expansion and industrial policy⁶

Analysts are still figuring out 2024's "green performance".

We can expect:

• Green industries in China will grow three times as fast as its economy⁷
• US large-scale battery storage additions will push the cumulative battery storage to 26.3 GW at the end of Q3⁸
• The world will spend almost twice as much on clean energy as it will on fossil fuels⁹

Stay tuned.

Reading (gobs of it)

1. BloombergNEF. “Global Cost of Renewables to Continue Falling in 2025 as China Extends Manufacturing Lead: BloombergNEF,” February 6, 2025. https://about.bnef.com/blog/global-cost-of-renewables-to-continue-falling-in-2025-as-china-extends-manufacturing-lead-bloombergnef/.
2. “60+ Business Sustainability Statistics [2025 Update] | TravelPerk Canada.” Accessed March 7, 2025. https://www.travelperk.com/en-ca/blog/business-sustainability-statistics/.
3. World Bank Blogs. “To Tackle Climate Change, Governments Increasingly Turn to Green Subsidies.” Accessed March 7, 2025. https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/trade/to-tackle-climate-change--governments-increasingly-turn-to-green.
4. World Bank Blogs. “To Tackle Climate Change, Governments Increasingly Turn to Green Subsidies.” Accessed March 7, 2025. https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/trade/to-tackle-climate-change--governments-increasingly-turn-to-green.
5. IEA. “Clean Energy Is Boosting Economic Growth – Analysis,” April 18, 2024. https://www.iea.org/commentaries/clean-energy-is-boosting-economic-growth.
   (This is quite aside from the question of whether or not GDP is even a useful thing any more. Another article, some day.)
6. Myllyvirta, Lauri. “Analysis: Clean Energy Contributed a Record 10% of China’s GDP in 2024.” Carbon Brief, February 19, 2025. https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-clean-energy-contributed-a-record-10-of-chinas-gdp-in-2024/.
7. Myllyvirta, Lauri. “Analysis: Clean Energy Contributed a Record 10% of China’s GDP in 2024.” Carbon Brief, February 19, 2025. https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-clean-energy-contributed-a-record-10-of-chinas-gdp-in-2024/.
8. L, Jennifer. “U.S. Battery Storage Hits a New Record Growth in 2024.” Carbon Credits, December 17, 2024. https://carboncredits.com/u-s-battery-storage-hits-a-new-record-growth-in-2024/. (That's enough to continuously operate 18 DeLorean time machines at a draw of 1.21 GW each.)
9. IEA. “Overview and Key Findings – World Energy Investment 2024 – Analysis.” Accessed March 7, 2025. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2024/overview-and-key-findings.