$2trn clean energy investment spree to be double fossil spending: IEA

Investment in zero-carbon energy technologies including renewables will be twice that devoted to fossil fuels this year, said the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Global spending on sectors such as wind, solar, grids, EVs nuclear and energy storage in 2024 will be about $2 trillion, with oil, gas and coal getting $1trn, pushing total investment past the $3trn mark for the first time, said the Paris-based agency’s latest World Energy Investment Report.

The IEA’s forecast came a day after United Nations secretary general António Guterres launched his most stinging attack yet on the fossil fuel industry, labelling its companies the “godfathers of climate chaos” and calling for advertising of their products to be banned.

The IEA – which earlier this week warned that an ambitious goal to triple renewables by 2030 is out of reach under current national ambitions – said the widening gap between clean and fossil investment should not hide some uncomfortable facts.

They include persistent low investment in clean energy in emerging and developing economies, with high cost of capital proving a problem.

China will account for the largest share of clean energy investment in 2024, reaching about $675bn, the IEA predicts. Europe and the US will see investments of $370bn and $315bn respectively.

IEA executive director Fatih Birol said: “The rise in clean energy spending is underpinned by strong economics, by continued cost reductions and by considerations of energy security. But there is a strong element of industrial policy, too, as major economies compete for advantage in new clean energy supply chains.

“More must be done to ensure that investment reaches the places where it is needed most, in particular the developing economies where access to affordable, sustainable and secure energy is severely lacking today.”