New Delhi, Jun 6 (IANS): Despite pressures on financing, global investment in clean energy is set to reach almost double the amount going to fossil fuels in 2024, helped by improving supply chains and lower costs for clean technologies, according to a new IEA report, released on Thursday.
Total energy investment worldwide is expected to exceed $3 trillion in 2024 for the first time, with some $2 trillion set to go toward clean technologies – including renewables, electric vehicles, nuclear power, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency improvements and heat pumps, as per the latest edition of the IEA’s annual World Energy Investment report.
Solar PV is leading the transformation of the power sector. More money is now going into solar PV than all other electricity generation technologies combined. In 2024, investment in solar PV is set to grow to $500 billion as falling module prices spur new investments, according to the report.
Slightly over $1 trillion of investment is going to coal, gas and oil. In 2023, combined investment in renewable power and grids overtook the amount spent on fossil fuels for the first time.
“For every dollar going to fossil fuels today, almost two dollars are invested in clean energy,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
The new report warns, however, that there are still major imbalances and shortfalls in energy investment flows in many parts of the world. It highlights the low level of clean energy spending in emerging and developing economies (outside China), which is set to exceed $300 billion for the first time – led by India and Brazil.
Yet, this accounts for only about 15 per cent of global clean energy investment, far below what is required to meet growing energy demand in many of these countries, where the high cost of capital is holding back the development of new projects, the report adds.
When the Paris Agreement was reached in 2015, the combined investment in renewables and nuclear for electricity generation was twice the amount going to fossil fuel-fired power. In 2024, this is set to rise to ten times as much, the report highlights.
China is set to account for the largest share of clean energy investment in 2024, reaching an estimated $675 billion. This results from strong domestic demand across three industries in particular – solar, lithium batteries and electric vehicles.
Europe and the United States follow, with clean energy investment of $370 billion and $315 billion respectively.