Natural gas’s share in the global electricity mix fell for the fifth consecutive year in 2025, reaching 21.8%, according to Ember.
Solar generation rose by 636TWh in 2025, 17 times more than the 38TWh increase in gas-fired generation.
Solar alone met around 75% of global electricity demand growth in 2025, while gas contributed less than 5%.
Ember says 61 of 124 gas-generating economies had already passed their peak gas generation by 2025.
India, China and Brazil accounted for 42% of global electricity demand in 2025, but continued to meet rising demand with limited reliance on gas.
The share of natural gas in the global electricity mix fell for the fifth consecutive year in 2025, signalling a structural shift in the power sector as renewable energy meets more of the world’s rising electricity demand, according to a new analysis by energy think tank Ember.
Gas accounted for 21.8 per cent of global electricity generation in 2025, down from 23.9 per cent in 2020, the report said. Gas-fired power generation continued to rise in absolute terms, but its growth has slowed sharply as solar and wind expanded at a much faster pace, Ember said.
Between 2021 and 2025, gas generation grew at an average annual rate of 1.6 per cent, nearly half the 2.9 per cent annual growth recorded between 2016 and 2020, according to the analysis.
In 2025, global gas generation increased by just 38 terawatt-hours (TWh), or 0.6 per cent, the report said. By contrast, solar generation rose by 636 TWh, making its increase 17 times larger than the growth in gas generation, Ember said.
Solar alone met around 75 per cent of global electricity demand growth in 2025, while gas contributed less than 5 per cent, according to the analysis.
Over the past five years, clean power led by solar and wind met around 68 per cent of global electricity demand growth, reducing the need for additional gas-fired generation, the report said. “The economics and energy security case for electricity are increasingly moving in the same direction,” Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, senior electricity analyst at Ember, said in a statement.
“As renewables lower costs while reducing exposure to fuel price shocks and geopolitical disruptions, gas is steadily losing the advantages that once made it the default fuel for power system growth,” she said.
The report found that 61 of the 124 economies generating electricity from gas had already passed their peak gas generation by 2025. Together, these countries accounted for around one-fifth of global gas-fired electricity generation, Ember said.
The largest declines from peak gas generation were recorded in Japan, where gas generation fell by 127 TWh. The United Kingdom followed with a decline of 85 TWh, India with 69 TWh, Spain with 59 TWh and Italy with 48 TWh, according to the report.
In India, gas-fired generation peaked in 2010 at 118TWh, accounting for 12.6 per cent of the country’s electricity mix, Ember said. By 2025, gas contributed 49 TWh and just 2.3 per cent of India’s total generation, according to the analysis.
Brazil also recorded a decline, with gas’s share falling from a peak of 13.7 per cent in 2014 to 7.3 per cent in 2025, the report said. China, despite rapid electricity demand growth, kept gas at around 3 per cent of its electricity mix in 2025, generating 334 TWh from gas, Ember said.
India, China and Brazil together accounted for around 42 per cent of global electricity demand in 2025, but continued to meet growing demand without significant reliance on gas, according to the report.
G7 gas use has also plateaued. G7 countries accounted for 37 per cent of global gas-fired electricity generation in 2025, with the United States alone contributing 26 per cent, Ember said. However, gas generation across the G7 fell by 50 TWh in 2025, from 2,627 TWh to 2,577 TWh, according to the report.
Gas’s share of the G7 electricity mix dropped from 34.3 per cent in 2024 to 32.9 per cent in 2025, marking the second consecutive annual decline, Ember said. At the same time, renewable generation reached 2,544 TWh, nearly matching gas generation and helping clean power overtake fossil fuels in the G7 electricity mix, according to the analysis.
Four G7 economies dependent on imported gas — the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Japan — have remained below their historical gas generation peaks for at least five consecutive years, Ember said.
Recent geopolitical shocks have accelerated the shift away from gas by exposing the risks of import dependence, the report said. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered major gas supply disruptions and price spikes, prompting faster renewable deployment across Europe and Asia, according to Ember.
More recent liquefied natural gas disruptions linked to the 2026 West Asia conflict have further reinforced concerns about fuel security and price volatility, the report said. “Recent geopolitical crises highlighted the risks of relying on imported gas,” Wiatros-Motyka said. “Countries are increasingly turning to renewables because they are domestically available, more price stable and faster to deploy.”
Despite the fall in gas’s global share, gas-fired generation has not yet peaked, Ember said. Growth is becoming increasingly concentrated in a small number of large markets. The United States recorded the largest increase in gas generation between 2015 and 2025, adding 474 TWh, equivalent to nearly one-third of total global gas growth during the period, according to the report.
Gas’s share in the US power mix rose from 33 per cent to 40 per cent, while coal’s share halved from 33 per cent to 16 per cent. This concentration means global gas demand trends remain heavily influenced by a small number of large economies, even as many countries reduce dependence on the fuel, Ember said.
The future role of gas is likely to shift from a source of structural growth to a balancing resource in electricity systems increasingly dominated by renewables, the report said. Continued expansion of renewable energy, alongside investment in transmission infrastructure, energy storage and other flexibility solutions, will be critical for meeting rising electricity demand while limiting dependence on imported fossil fuels, Ember said.
As countries prioritise affordability, energy security and industrial competitiveness, the economics increasingly favour domestically produced clean electricity over fuel imports, according to the report.
With nearly half of gas-generating economies already past peak gas generation and renewable technologies scaling rapidly, the world appears to be moving closer to a peak in global gas-fired power generation, Ember said.