If you had asked us last year who was deploying renewables faster — the Global South or the Global North — we would have thought it safe to say the Global North. But a recent RMI report finds a different reality. When it comes to the share of electricity from solar and wind, the Global South is growing twice as fast as the Global North.

And beyond every number, there is a story. From the recent Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit to the upcoming SEforAll Global Forum, global leaders are coming together to make pathbreaking progress on clean energy — and then getting to work on implementation. This article connects five charts from the report to the local action that makes it all possible.

First, let us set the scene. The Global South — which we define as Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia — needs much more energy, and it needs it as fast and as cheaply as possible. The Global South uses five times less energy per person than the Global North. Yet, on aggregate, the region has already become a net importer of fossil fuels. Given low domestic reserves on average, the cost and risk of fossil fuel imports could rise to painful heights.

In stark contrast, these countries are endowed with 70 percent of the world’s renewable energy potential. This renewable resource keeps getting cheaper and cheaper, outcompeting fossil fuels on price. When incentives are clear, markets move — and cleantech is moving.

Electricity Investments Have Pivoted from Fossil to Clean

Electricity has seen a dramatic capital reallocation. In 2024, clean sources outpaced fossil fuels by 7x in Global South electricity capital, compared to an even split just ten years earlier.

The shift to renewable energy is clear across regions. Though investment has been lower in Africa, the recent summit broke new ground — with major development banks pledging more than $50 billion in finance through 2030. Where capital flows, generation follows.

Exhibit 1: The Global South has pivoted capital expenditures (capex) to clean energy

Global South solar and wind generation is on an S-curve

Solar and wind generation in the Global South is following the same S-curve growth pattern as the Global North and China. Over the past five years, the solar and wind share of electricity has been improving by an average annual rate of 23 percent (versus 11 percent in the Global North). Different places in the Global South are rising up the S-curve at different times and speeds, but are following the same general trend — led by Latin America with South Asia close behind.

African nations are also committing to increase renewable energy generation. At the recent summit in Dar Es Salaam, 12 countries presented National Energy Compacts — setting clear, country-specific targets to expand infrastructure, integrate distributed renewable energy, and enhance private sector participation. These compacts highlight the importance of localized, stakeholder-led solutions.

Exhibit 2: Renewables are also following an S-curve in the Global South

Faster than the Global North

In this new energy game, many Global South countries are showing their wealthy counterparts how it’s done. One-fifth of the Global South — from Brazil to Morocco, Bangladesh to Egypt, and Namibia to Vietnam — has already overtaken the Global North for key metrics on solar and wind adoption or electrification. In eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa, solar’s share of electricity is more than twice as high as in the United States.

These bright spots are the rule, not the exception. Latin America is outpacing China in solar and wind share, and Southeast Asia is on pace to do the same if recent growth continues.

Exhibit 3: Most Global South regions are outpacing the Global North

Led by on-the-ground action

Much of this trend is being driven by energy consumers looking to save on electricity costs. Satellite images in parts of Pakistan show nearly every building covered in solar panels. Tanzania’s electricity access has more than tripled in just the past decade, from 14 percent in 2011 to 46 percent in 2022. Efforts to electrify agricultural processes in Nigeria are scaling at speed.

This explosion of growth is happening across the globe. From Namibia to Barbados, solar panels from China alone have roughly doubled the total capacity of some nations’ electricity systems in just a few years. With panel costs dropping 35 percent in 2024 alone, progress is unlikely to stop soon.

Exhibit 4: Solar is supplying in years what took old energy decades

Progress varies, but can be helped along

Still, Global South countries have a wide range of energy access. Some very low-income nations are barely seeing clean energy growth at all.

These countries can accelerate progress by removing regulatory barriers to attract investment and align private capital with public priorities. International actions will also help, such as implementing the Global Energy Storage Pledge for a sixfold increase from 2022 to 2030.

For now, nearly 700 million people still lack electricity access — mainly in low-income nations in Africa. In 2023, the average African received 13x less renewable energy  investment than in other regions. The recent financial pledges can help overcome higher costs of capital, but they must be matched with holistic support that includes capacity building and technology transfer.

Exhibit 5: We must overcome barriers to support the most vulnerable nations

The time is now

Pushing the pace of progress has numerous benefits, regardless of one’s priorities. Energy access enables many other development goals, from education to gender equality. Locally owned renewables can bring millions of jobs globally, while saving millions of lives from the air pollution of dirty fuels — the largest risk factor for death across the Global South.

But above all, clean energy is the fastest path to the growth that emerging economies seek. With the vast majority of new power capacity coming from renewables that are cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives, leading nations can develop more quickly and efficiently with these cleaner options. Many already are.

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For more detail on tailored solutions to help low-income countries develop and get access to capital and energy, here are several resources from the IEA, IRENA, LSE, and Blended Finance Taskforce. There are also several RMI programs that focus on specific regions for both renewables and electrification, such as in India, Nigeria, and the Caribbean.