The world is expected to add less clean energy capacity in 2026 for the first time in five years, as inadequate electricity transmission networks and trade barriers slow deployment, Reuters reported, citing International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Director-General Francesco La Camera.

Governments have pledged to expand clean energy use to improve power supply reliability and reduce costs, particularly after the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupted energy supplies and drove up prices.

However, renewable energy deployment has slowed in China due to curtailment, which occurs when grid constraints prevent electricity generated from renewable sources from being used, La Camera told Reuters on the sidelines of the Singapore International Energy Week conference.

“The main cause of a lack of new records in additions this year is the mismatch between generation capacity and the capacity to distribute and transmit electricity,” La Camera said.

China, the world’s largest renewable energy producer, curtailed enough clean energy in the first half (H1) of 2026 to power Mexico for a year, according to the report. Electricity networks in countries such as Australia and Japan have also struggled to keep pace with the rapid expansion of renewable energy capacity.

La Camera said additions in other markets were unlikely to offset the slowdown in China this year.

“The amount of the [capacity] increase in the other parts of the world this year, I do not think it will offset the slowdown in China,” he said.