Countries in the developing world, Asia and Africa, that big gas developers were assuming could be locked into massive and expensive Liquified Natural Gas infrastucture, are now fleeing from dependence on that fuel.
Renewable energies, particularly solar, have been meeting the overwhelming majority of new demands globally.
- 2025 was the fifth consecutive year of decline in gas share in the global power mix. Although global gas generation has not yet peaked in absolute terms, its growth has slowed sharply. Between 2021 and 2025, gas generation grew at an average annual rate of 1.6%, about half the average growth rate seen between 2016 and 2020 (2.9%). Because gas grew more slowly than electricity demand, its share of global electricity generation fell from 23.9% in 2020 to 21.8% in 2025.
- Nearly half of gas-generating economies have passed their gas power peak. By 2025, 61 out of 124 economies generating electricity from gas had passed their gas generation peak, defined in this analysis as countries where gas-fired electricity generation has remained below its historical peak for at least five consecutive years. Together, these countries accounted for around one-fifth of global gas-fired electricity generation in 2025, showing that gas declines are widespread, but the global peak still depends on a smaller group of large gas-generating economies.
- Renewables are close to overtaking gas power in the G7. The G7 accounted for 37% of global gas-fired electricity generation in 2025. Four G7 gas import-dependent economies — the UK, Germany, Italy and Japan — have remained below their historical gas generation peaks for at least five consecutive years. Across the G7 as a whole, gas has not yet peaked, but there are growing signs of a plateau. Its share fell for a second consecutive year, while generation also declined in 2025. At the same time, renewable power has grown consistently and, in 2025, generated almost as much electricity (2,544 TWh) as gas power (2,577 TWh), helping clean power overtake fossil power in the G7 electricity mix.
- Brazil, China and India are meeting rising electricity demand without turning to gas. The world’s three largest emerging economies, which accounted for 42% of global electricity demand in 2025, continue to grow while maintaining relatively low levels of gas generation in their power systems. China’s gas share remained close to 3% of the electricity mix in 2025 despite rapid demand growth. In India and Brazil, gas has already peaked and now plays a more limited balancing role.
The economics and energy security case for electricity are increasingly moving in the same direction. As renewables lower costs and reduce 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.
