The way we make and use energy is changing.
With prices falling and technology more widely available, clean energy uptake is growing rapidly. Investment in new clean power now outpaces investment in fossil fuels. This represents tremendous progress — but affordable technology is only one piece of the energy transition puzzle.
In many countries, rising energy demand driven by economic growth, electrification and new data centers is outstripping new clean supply. Strained, congested grids and extreme weather linked to climate change are causing more frequent power outages. Energy insecurity — exacerbated by the global pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and energy poverty remain stubbornly persistent. Over 700 million people still lack electricity access.
The question now is how we address these shifts and challenges together. How do we harness the energy transition already underway to build a future where energy is clean, abundant and reliable for all?
We identified six key opportunities that leaders should embrace to unlock a global energy transition at the pace and scale the world needs.
1) Modernizing Power Systems
Bringing affordable, clean, reliable power to all people hinges on expanding and updating the world’s electricity infrastructure and technology. Electricity grids are the world’s largest machines, but they were largely built piecemeal a century ago. Today’s grids need extensive upgrades to be able to transmit clean energy from where it’s produced (often in remote rural areas) to cities and manufacturing hubs. They need to be more efficient. And they need to withstand increasingly extreme weather.
Estimates say over 80 million kilometers of grid infrastructure will need to be built or upgraded by 2040 to meet countries’ energy and climate goals; equivalent to the entire amount that exists today. To achieve this, countries must revamp their approach to grid planning to quickly connect more widely distributed sources of electricity. Improving grid operations can also help by squeezing more efficiency from existing infrastructure.
Many countries are also looking outside their own borders, exploring ways to make energy more secure and reliable by connecting local grids to broader regional ones. Whether between states, provinces or countries, linking power grids across regions allows utilities to trade power more easily, helping to avoid power outages, expand access to renewables and often lower costs for customers. More of this sharing could help unlock reliable, clean energy for a wider set of communities.
Some countries are already making headway on new and updated infrastructure. China, for example, has invested billions in “ultra-high-voltage” powerlines that can efficiently carry power from remote generation sources (including hydro, wind and solar, but also coal), to energy-hungry cities. Some of these lines now transmit 100% renewable power.
Efforts to improve infrastructure planning and power sharing are seeing the most progress in regions with strong intergovernmental institutions — such as in the E.U. and parts of the U.S., where independent entities operate shared grids across multiple states or countries. The U.S.’s Midwest grid operator (MISO) has pioneered long-term planning processes that account for future needs. In 2024, it approved over 5,000 miles of new and upgraded infrastructure across 15 states, which will help bring new clean sources online and improve reliability across the region.
2) Attracting, Shifting and Mobilizing Finance
Investment trends in the energy sector are already shifting. In 2024, global investments in the energy transition surpassed $2 trillion for the first time, with electric transport, clean energy and grid infrastructure making up the largest share. However, oil and gas investment is also rising. And renewable projects — which often have high upfront costs — are sensitive to higher interest rates, particularly in developing countries.
Moving forward, finance for clean energy needs to increase drastically. This will take innovative models to attract and mobilize more finance in all countries, from all sources — and ensure it’s going to the right places.
For example, development banks can play critical roles in helping lower-income, coal-dependent nations shift their energy systems, whether by financing projects directly, lowering risks for investors, or helping governments develop supportive policy and regulations. This is already being done in some parts of Southeast Asia: Finance from the World Bank has helped bring solar power to more than 20 million people in Bangladesh, part of the country’s efforts to expand electricity access, even in places where the grid doesn’t reach.
But finance isn’t only about loans and grant programs. Fiscal policy also drives investment trends. In the U.S., the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure law offered billions of dollars in incentives for renewables, electric vehicles, energy storage and more, helping to spur clean energy investment across the country’s economy. In Europe, the EU Green Deal will mobilize an estimated EUR 390 billion (US$405 billion) annually for decarbonizing the economy through the energy sector. For example, recipients of financing through sources like European Regional Development Fund or NextGenerationEU must spend a certain percentage on green investments.
3) Securing Critical Minerals Responsibly
Clean energy technologies rely on critical minerals like copper, nickel, lithium and cobalt. But most mining and processing of these minerals is controlled by just a handful of countries. And some mines have made headlines for contributing to pollution and human rights abuses.
As the energy transition picks up speed, the world needs to secure an abundant supply of critical minerals in a way that’s safe, respects human rights, and minimizes risks to people and the environment. Mines and mining companies are more likely to be socially accepted if they support neighboring communities, clean up legacy mine pollution and serve as models of good governance.
Buyers and policymakers should come together to establish a market for responsibly produced materials by developing and adopting shared guardrails for mineral production. While responsible mining standards currently exist, they are piecemeal and don’t guarantee the same level of scrutiny across the industry.
We can also ease critical mineral pressures by reclaiming used materials and designing products to minimize demand. Recycling could lower the need for new mining by as much as 25%-40% by 2050, with the right policy incentives. Better recycling could save 6 million tons of copper alone from landfills each year — about a third of current production from the world’s 10 biggest mines.
Finding a “second life” for retired products can lower waste and demand, too. Electric bus and small EV batteries that no longer hold a full charge could be put to less intensive uses, like renewable energy storage. Decommissioned commercial solar panels could be refurbished and reused at a lower cost.
4) Shifting Demand from Large Energy Users
Electricity buyers increasingly want clean power. Major companies like Apple, Microsoft, Meta and others have already pledged to shift to 100% renewable energy within the next five to 15 years. Governments are seeing higher demand from households and local businesses.
This growing demand can help support and expand the clean energy market. But it is not a given. Buyers’ ability — and willingness — to tap into renewables and other clean technologies hinges on public policy that makes them both accessible and affordable.
Some companies are actively supporting energy policies and market reforms to help meet their own zero-carbon goals. This is especially true in regions like Southeast Asia, where companies don’t always have easy access to clean power. In Vietnam, for example, major brands like Samsung and Apple were instrumental in advancing a new policy that has streamlined access by allowing businesses to buy clean energy directly from developers, rather than through the state-run power company. Indonesia’s national utility, in partnership with WRI, also created a new green power offering for companies to purchase the renewable power they need.
Companies are also uniting through larger corporate procurement initiatives — like the Clean Energy Buyers Alliance in the U.S., the Asia Clean Energy Coalition (ACEC) in Asia and RESOURCE in Europe — to advocate for clean-energy-friendly policies and grid reform.
Progress is happening within local governments, too. In Columbus, Ohio, a community choice aggregation program enables households and small businesses to choose their own energy source. The city government contracts with power producers on their behalf, giving energy users access to 100% clean energy flowing from 700 MW of new solar and wind generation installations in the state.
More collaboration within cities and between companies in all sectors — from retailers to industry and buildings — can shift demand and build a market for clean, abundant and reliable power.
5) Overcome Siting Hurdles
Local opposition to clean energy projects has grown in recent years and can be a leading cause of project cancellations or delays. In the U.S., nearly every state now has local laws that restrict renewable energy development. In Spain, organized protests have delayed and even blocked new wind farms.
This pushback can stem from a variety of sources. Communities may be worried about the environmental or aesthetic impacts of new development. They may fear that benefits like new jobs and lower energy costs won’t be felt locally, or that their concerns won’t be heard in the development process. Overcoming these challenges will be essential to building new infrastructure at the pace and scale needed.
To start, communities’ concerns need to be heard and addressed early on. Communities should have access to accurate and timely information about benefits and impacts of potential projects, including tax revenues, jobs, visual impacts, environmental outcomes and potential local investments. Local governments should work with communities to update plans and zoning policies long before any proposals are considered.
Also important is making sure that the benefits of clean energy development are indeed felt locally. Arrangements like community benefits agreements (legally binding contracts between communities and developers) can help ensure that local people have a say in the development process and that new projects bring them tangible benefits, such as jobs or new infrastructure. For example, an offshore wind development near the U.S. state of Rhode Island not only involved the community in a meaningful consultation process but returned environmental and economic benefits, including new jobs.
Permitting timelines are another critical hurdle. It can take five to 15 years to plan, permit and build new grid infrastructure — too long for the pace and scale of change required by the clean energy transition. Alongside engaging communities early and often, governments can help streamline siting and permitting processes by establishing clear and consistent regulatory frameworks within and between agencies; improving coordination among the agencies involved; ensuring adequate staff are on hand to process permits; and setting maximum review timelines for steps like environmental and impact reviews.
6) Cultivating the Energy Workforce of the Future
Finally, achieving a global energy transition depends on having a workforce to power it. The world needs a new generation of manufacturers, energy workers and entrepreneurs equipped to build and operate 21st-century systems.
Sustainable energy is already creating millions of jobs worldwide, with significant growth potential. In many markets these are high-quality jobs. In the U.K., for example, it’s estimated that the energy transition could result in up to 50% more jobs in the energy sector.
It’s important that diverse groups of people have access to these opportunities, including those whose jobs were previously in the fossil fuel industry. For example, in Europe’s North Sea, some of the workforce is beginning to transition from offshore oil and gas to offshore wind. While the skillsets overlap, some of these workers will need to retrain or upskill to work with new technologies.
Programs like the EU’s BUILD UP Skills and the European Construction Blueprint initiatives offer support to train workers for green jobs. Companies and governments alike will need to invest in more programs like these, paired with social support programs, to help energy workers navigate the transition. College and trade school programs can cast an even wider net for new workers and entrepreneurs to prepare for opportunities in the sector.
Getting from Here to There
We have the tools and technology we need to ensure energy is clean, sustainable, reliable and abundant. And we know the transition can create jobs, bolster economies and improve lives. So how do we proceed?
Accelerating the energy transition will require action from all facets of society: consumers, policymakers and businesses alike. Innovative partnerships are essential for ensuring that the transition not only speeds up but is done responsibly, in a way that benefits all people in all countries.
At the new WRI Polsky Center for the Global Energy Transition, we’re working with global and local partners to bring this vision into focus and build momentum for a brighter energy future. This is a challenge with many dimensions: human, technological and economic. But the world can and must succeed. Together, we can plan for, invest in and deploy clean, abundant and reliable energy resources. Simply put, it’s a prerequisite to a safer and more prosperous future for all.
