14 November, 2025

This year’s COP30 in Belém sets the stage for a decisive moment in global climate action. Ten years after the Paris Agreement, the focus has shifted toward implementation – phasing down fossil fuels, strengthening adaptation finance, aligning national targets with 1.5 °C pathways, and advancing a just transition. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the world risks overshooting 1.5 °C and described the delay as “moral failure and deadly negligence”. Against this backdrop, the pace of renewable deployment across some of the world’s fastest-growing economies is becoming increasingly central to the global picture. 

Many of these economies are now at the centre of the energy transition, not as followers but as key enablers. Solar, wind and electric mobility are scaling at remarkable speed across India, Brazil, Vietnam, Morocco, Indonesia and Ethiopia, in many cases supported by a less-than-usual suspect: China. This shift centres on pragmatic action in response to rising energy demand, import dependency and the economic strain of fossil fuels. 

China, despite its continued reliance on coal and rising domestic emissions, has become an unexpected driver of renewable expansion. With the United States pulling back on climate leadership and Europe wrestling with the balance between the Green Deal and competitiveness, China has stepped in to fill the gap. As our markets pivot toward clean technologies, China’s manufacturing capacity has swiftly pivoted with them. 

For countries scaling up renewables, China offers affordability and scale, and an accessible path to greater energy security. Yet success is nuanced and trade-offs should not be ignored. Several of these same economies still depend heavily on fossil fuels, while local pollution, land pressures and social risks tied to industrial supply chains remain significant. China’s clean-tech boom also sits on a carbon-intensive domestic industrial base with well-documented concerns around labour rights and environmental oversight. 

Some countries, like India, have already reached parts of their 2030 clean-energy targets ahead of schedule, yet still face severe pollution and uneven access to safe infrastructure. It is a reminder that deployment alone is not enough. At COP30, key topics include raising ambition through updated NDCs, securing the pledged US$1.3 trillion annually for climate finance, protecting vulnerable communities and ecosystems, and renewing trust in the Paris framework. 

Renewables are expanding quickly, and that is good news. But lasting progress depends on strengthening the conditions around that growth – from fair supply chains and resilient infrastructure to clean production and equitable financing. The transition will accelerate only if it delivers benefits not just for the planet but for the people and places driving its momentum.

By Mariana Garcia