In October 2025 Australia hit a milestone: clean electricity generation (9.88 TWh) exceeded fossil-fuel generation (9.82 TWh) for the first time, driven by record-low coal output and contributing to a year-to-date 13.5 million metric ton cut in power-sector CO2. Over the past five years clean generation rose 77% while fossil-based generation fell 15%; utility-scale solar grew ~21% annually and total clean capacity nearly doubled from 32 GW in 2019 to 63.5 GW by end-2024. This shift signals a practical turning point for a coal- and gas-exporting economy and has material implications for emissions trajectories, market positioning and grid operations. Near-term outlook hinges on whether clean generation holds through summer (coal still supplied 44% in October), and on rapid deployment of storage and grid upgrades to avoid bottlenecks.

In 2024 global greenhouse‐gas emissions reached a record 57.7 GtCO2e, up 2.3% from 2023, with fossil‐fuel CO2 at 37.4 billion metric tons (+0.8%); oil and gas rose 0.9% and 2.4%, coal 0.2%, and China, India, the U.S., Russia and Indonesia were the largest emitters, with India recording the highest absolute increase. Reacting to this rise, EU environment ministers (Nov 5–10, 2025) revised the climate law and submitted an NDC committing to 66.25–72.5% net GHG cuts below 1990 by 2035, ≈90% by 2040 and neutrality by 2050. The Baku‐to‐Belém Roadmap aims to mobilize US$1.3 trillion/year by 2035; EU public climate finance in 2024 totaled €31.7bn plus €11bn mobilized privately. With COP30 (Nov 10–21, 2025) imminent, the article flags urgent tests on implementation, finance delivery and operational plans.