Sustainability Progress Is Global—and It Continues
For those discouraged by the direction of sustainability policy in the United States, Generation Investment Management’s newly released 2026 Sustainability Trends Report offers an important wider perspective. UUCEF is an investor in three of Generation Investment Management’s impact funds, giving the Fund direct exposure to companies and solutions helping drive the transition toward a more sustainable economy. And that transition is very much global: Generation reports that clean energy grew fast enough in 2025 to meet all new global electricity demand, solar power is expanding at roughly 30% annually, and electric vehicles now account for one-quarter of global new-car sales.
The report does not minimize the challenges. Global emissions remain too high and substantially more investment is needed to meet climate goals. But capital continues to move: annual investment in clean energy has reached approximately $2.2 trillion—twice the amount flowing into fossil fuels. Generation also sees growing evidence that developing economies may be able to “leapfrog” fossil-fuel-intensive development as renewable energy, batteries and electric transportation become increasingly competitive.
For UUCEF investors, the report is a useful reminder that sustainability progress is not defined by developments in the United States alone. Across the world, technological innovation, economics and investment continue to propel the transition forward. Progress is neither uniform nor assured—but the global effort toward a more sustainable economy continues.