The latest report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), has indicated that global investment in clean energy technology and infrastructure would hit $2 trillion this year, twice the amount going to fossil fuels.
This is even as it said that more money is now going into solar PV than all other electricity generation technologies combined.
The report projected investment in solar PV to grow to $500 billion in 2024, as falling module prices spur new investments.
According to the report, China would account for the largest share of clean energy investment in 2024, reaching an estimated $675billion. This results from strong domestic demand across three industries-solar, lithium batteries and electric vehicles.
The report said, “Europe and the United States follow, with clean energy investment of $370 billion and $315 billion respectively. These three major economies alone make up more than two-thirds of global clean energy investment, underlining the disparities in international capital flows into energy”.
It stated that “global upstream oil and gas investment is expected to increase by 7% in 2024 to reach $570 billion, following a similar rise in 2023. The growth in spending in 2023 and 2024 is predominantly by national oil companies in the Middle East and Asia”.
The report revealed that “oil and gas investment in 2024 is broadly aligned with the demand levels implied in 2030 by today’s policy settings, but far higher than projected in scenarios that hit national or global climate goals.
“Clean energy investment by oil and gas companies reached $30 billion in 2023, accounting for only 4% of the industry’s overall capital spending, according to the report. Meanwhile, coal investment continues to rise, with more than 50 gigawatts of unabated coal-fired power approved in 2023, the highest since 2015.
“In addition to economic challenges, grids and electricity storage have been a significant constraint on clean energy transitions. But spending on grids is rising and is set to reach $400 billion in 2024, having been stuck at around $300 billion annually between 2015 and 2021.
“The increase is largely due to new policy initiatives and funding in Europe, the United States, China and some countries in Latin America. Meanwhile, investments in battery storage are taking off and set to reach $54 billion in 2024 as costs fall further.
“Yet again, this spending is highly concentrated. For every dollar invested in battery storage in advanced economies and China, only one cent was invested in other emerging and developing economies”, the report said.
