History was made in 2025, though few noticed it at the time. For the first time since the 1970s, coal power generation fell simultaneously in China and India—the world's two voracious energy consumers. This unprecedented dip, revealed in a new analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), suggests that the global emissions peak may finally be in the rearview mirror.

The decline—1.6% in China and 3% in India—occurred despite robust economic growth. The gap was filled not by gas, but by an explosion of renewable capacity. China added a staggering 300GW of solar and 100GW of wind in a single year, a deployment scale that dwarfs the entire grid capacity of most developed nations.

The "Renewables Tsunami"

"This is not a blip; it is a structural break," the report states. In India, the surge in solar and wind met the entire increase in electricity demand, pushing coal into a backup role. This decoupling of GDP growth from carbon emissions challenges the long-held assumption that developing economies must burn carbon to rise.

• The Catalyst: While policy played a role, economics did the heavy lifting. The plummeting cost of solar panels and batteries has made new coal plants financially unviable.
• The Risks: The transition is not guaranteed. The report warns that extreme weather events, like heatwaves requiring massive air conditioning loads, could force a temporary return to coal. However, the trajectory is clear.

A Planet Breathing Easier?

Since China and India accounted for 90% of the rise in global emissions over the last decade, their pivot is the single most significant factor in the climate fight. If this trend holds, 2025 will be remembered as the year the King Coal era effectively ended.