Split Transition: BRICS Breaks Renewable Records and Fossil Records Too

In 2025, the BRICS nations experienced their largest power capacity expansion on record, characterized by a 'split transition' where both fossil fuels and renewables reached historic highs. While 125 GW of new coal, oil, and gas capacity was added, solar and wind additions totaled 497 GW. This growth was heavily concentrated in China and India, where record renewable deployment began to reduce coal-fired generation despite continued coal capacity expansion. In contrast, other BRICS members like Russia and Iran remain overwhelmingly fossil-based, while Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, and the UAE show varying degrees of renewable growth and fossil fuel reliance.

• The BRICS nations saw record-breaking power capacity additions in 2025 across all four major sources: coal (93 GW), oil and gas (32 GW), solar (367 GW), and wind (129 GW).
• Fossil fuel expansion reached a historic peak in 2025 with 125 GW of new capacity added, resulting in a net annual increase of 115 GW after retirements, which is 11% higher than the previous 2015 peak.
• Renewable energy deployment surged to 497 GW in 2025, with China and India accounting for approximately 87% of all new solar and wind additions.
• China and India are experiencing a contradictory pattern where coal capacity continues to expand while coal-fired generation declines due to the rapid growth of renewables.
• The utility-scale solar and wind project pipeline in the BRICS grew by roughly 25% in 2025 to reach 2,317 GW, which is approximately 2.5 times the size of the 927 GW fossil fuel pipeline.
• Energy transition progress is highly uneven across the bloc; while some nations accelerate renewables, Russia and Iran's future capacity additions remain predominantly fossil-based, with fossil projects outnumbering renewables 7 to 1.
• In India, the decline in coal-fired generation is most pronounced at the state level, with Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan seeing year-on-year declines of 20%, 15%, and 10% respectively.

APA

Norman, J. (n.d.). Split Transition: BRICS Breaks Renewable Records and Fossil Records Too. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/split-transition-brics-breaks-renewable-records-and-fossil-records-too

Chicago

Norman, James. Split Transition: BRICS Breaks Renewable Records and Fossil Records Too. Global Energy Monitor, n.d. https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/split-transition-brics-breaks-renewable-records-and-fossil-records-too.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Norman |first1=James |title=Split Transition: BRICS Breaks Renewable Records and Fossil Records Too |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/split-transition-brics-breaks-renewable-records-and-fossil-records-too |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{normanndsplit, author = {Norman, James}, title = {{Split Transition: BRICS Breaks Renewable Records and Fossil Records Too}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/split-transition-brics-breaks-renewable-records-and-fossil-records-too}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }