• Global installed renewable capacity has multiplied 2.4 times since the Paris Agreement.
• Liberia has raised the renewable share of its electricity mix from 0% in 2015 to 33% today, with renewables accounting for 70% of its new power capacity.
• Africa’s total renewable capacity reached 67 GW in 2024, representing only 1.5% of global capacity.

As the climate emergency intensifies, commitments made since the Paris Agreement continue to reshape global electricity systems, with measurable progress despite persistent challenges.

In an analysis published in November, research group Zero Carbon Analytics reports that renewable energy has made significant advances since 2015. Global installed renewable capacity increased by a factor of 2.4, and electricity generation from clean energy sources expanded rapidly over the past decade.

The analysis shows that 20 countries raised the renewable share of their electricity mix by at least 20 percentage points. In 12 of these countries, renewables now exceed half of total electricity consumption.

One African country, Liberia, illustrates this shift. In 2015, Liberia consumed no renewable electricity. Today, renewables account for 33% of its power mix. During the period, the country multiplied its overall power-generation capacity by more than five, with renewables representing 70% of that growth. Zero Carbon Analytics notes that these developments allowed Liberia to double electricity access in ten years.

Liberia is not the only African nation on the list. Angola increased its renewable share from 55% to 76% since 2015. Sierra Leone raised its share from 75% to 95%. Several other African countries progressed as well, although less dramatically, through new solar, hydropower and wind projects and through grid improvements.

Despite these notable gains, the advances in Liberia, Angola and Sierra Leone mask Africa’s wider lag in renewable-energy adoption compared with its stated ambitions and global progress. According to IRENA’s “Renewable Capacity Highlights,” Africa’s total renewable capacity reached 67 GW in 2024, representing only 1.5% of global capacity.

This article was initially published in French by Abdoullah Diop

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum