It was supposed to be a glum year for green stocks as President Donald Trump pushed his Big Oil agenda. Instead, the sector is booming as artificial intelligence powers massive demand for all kinds of energy.
The S&P Global Clean Energy Transition Index has rallied 44% this year, handily beating a 16% advance in the S&P 500 Index. It’s also outpacing an 11% gain in the S&P Global Oil Index, which was expected to be a big winner on the back of Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” agenda.
That’s an outperformance few had expected going into 2025, when investors had fled from stocks such as solar and wind producers on worries that Trump would abandon green policies and boost production of fossil fuels.
While the US has indeed taken steps to overhaul energy policy — including trying to block wind farm projects and dropping out of a global pact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — other countries such as Germany and China have shored up the sector by committing billions of dollars in spending on grid development and infrastructure for the energy transition.
And it’s more than just demand from AI data centers. Lower interest rates have improved the outlook for debt-heavy green stocks. Valuations are still below average, while many European and Asian countries and even some US states are pushing for the switch to cleaner power.
Evy Hambro, global head of thematics and sector investing at BlackRock Inc., said investor interest in the sector was rising after several years of inertia.
“Sustainable energy has been so overlooked because it’s all exciting to be in the Magnificent Seven,” Hambro said, referring to the group of US technology companies that have been at the forefront of the AI race. “To me, this is where a huge amount of potential value will come from. We’re seeing dramatically more client engagement and it’s a high-priority area for us in 2026.”
Clean energy stocks are among this year’s best performers across regions. US-based maker of fuel cells Bloom Energy Corp. has surged 328%, while China’s Sungrow Power Supply Co. — one of the world’s largest inverter and energy storage producers — has rallied 137%. In Europe, Siemens Energy AG has more than doubled.
Those gains are far ahead of the rally in US tech heavyweights including AI bellwether Nvidia Corp., which is up about 30%. And oil has declined 14% as Trump’s push for US producers to ramp up drilling has partly fed a global supply glut. OPEC now predicts a quarterly surfeit rather than a deficit in global oil markets.
Investors have turned more positive on green stocks as it becomes increasingly clear that the energy needed to power AI can’t be delivered without renewables.
A global benchmark of clean energy stocks is outperforming major equity indexes and even gold, as investors respond to soaring demand for renewables needed to power the boom in artificial intelligence.
The S&P Global Clean Energy Transition Index has surged close to 50% since US President Donald Trump’s April tariff announcements caused havoc across markets. That compares with the roughly 35% gain delivered by both the S&P 500 Index and gold over the same period.
Investors have turned more positive on green stocks as it becomes increasingly clear that the energy needed to power AI can’t be delivered without renewables. That’s despite efforts by the Trump administration to ax green policies, as China, India, Europe and some US states stay committed to low-carbon sectors.
A stunning rally in global clean-tech markets has defied political headwinds in the United States, with green stocks soaring nearly 50% this year—outpacing most other equity benchmarks and signaling renewed investor confidence in the low-carbon economy. The surge comes even as President Donald Trump dismantles federal support for renewable energy, underscoring the growing role of market forces, artificial intelligence (AI), and China’s industrial expansion in driving the energy transition.
Market Rebound Defies Political Climate
After years of underperformance, clean-tech equities have delivered one of 2025’s most lucrative returns. The S&P Global Clean Energy Index has gained around 50% year-to-date, compared to less than 20% for the MSCI World Index. Analysts link the boom to two dominant forces reshaping global energy demand: the explosive rise in electricity needs from AI-driven data centers and China’s continuing investment in low-carbon industries.
This momentum has lifted investor sentiment despite Trump’s rollback of green subsidies and regulations.
“Investors have been too distracted by Trump’s anti-green rhetoric,” said Aniket Shah, global head of sustainability and transition strategy at Jefferies. “The $2 trillion in low-carbon spending last year is an insane number—it shows the green economy is having a wonderful moment.”
