The Global Renewables Summit 2025 (GRS25) came to New York with big promises: tripling renewable energy by 2030, mobilising trillions in finance, and ushering in an era of “renewable abundance.” The photo ops were polished, the speeches full of conviction. But let’s be honest: we’ve heard this before. If the past decade has taught us anything, it’s that summits excel at producing headlines, not megawatts. This summit is taking place in New York from 22 to 23 September 2025, with Heads of States, CEOs and MDBs representatives, convening to push renewables scale-up; speakers include Ursula von der Leyen, William Ruto, and Philip Davis.
A Summit of Promises
GRS25 billed itself as the follow-up to the UAE Consensus from COP28, where leaders pledged to triple renewables by 2030. This week, presidents, prime ministers, and CEOs repeated the mantra, pledging once again to “accelerate” and “unlock” and “scale up.”
What does this mean?
Reports from REN21 and others tell us that despite record installations last year, the world is not on track. We are sprinting, yes, but toward a finish line that keeps receding.
So, what would success look like after GRS25?
Finance that matters: concessional, accessible, and targeted to those paying the highest costs.
Policies with teeth: national laws and regulations that force implementation, not just announcements.
Accountability that sticks: independent monitoring, transparent reporting, and civil society oversight.
Until then, summits like GRS25 remain echo chambers, grand stages where leaders promise tomorrow what they failed to deliver yesterday. The world doesn’t need another round of applause lines. It needs power lines. GRS25 should be remembered not for the speeches, but for whether, in a year’s time, we can point to real shifts in finance, infrastructure, and justice. Anything less is just more summit theatre.