As the world rapidly transitions from carbon-emitting energy to renewable power, investment in clean energy is at an all-time high, with a new report from London-based research firm BloombergNEF revealing renewables investment surpassed US$1 trillion in 2022.
The “Energy Transition Investment Trends” report also states global parity was reached in capital expenditure between clean energy and fossil fuels for the first time in history.
Almost every sector of the clean energy industry experienced record investment in 2022, including renewable energy, energy storage, electrified transport, electrified heat, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and sustainable materials.
Renewable energy such as solar, wind and biofuels received the greatest slice of the investment pie, with a record US$495 billion committed in 2022, up 17 per cent from 2021.
Electrified transport was close behind, with US$466 billion spent in 2022, up 54 per cent year-on-year.
Hydrogen is the fastest growing sector in global clean energy, with investment in 2022 tripling from 2021, however it still only accounts for 0.1 per cent investment worldwide with US$1.1 billion.
“Investment in clean energy technologies is on the brink of overtaking fossil fuel investments, and won’t look back,” says Albert Cheung, head of global analysis, BloombergNEF.
“These investments will drive short-term job creation and help address medium-term energy security objectives. But much more investment is needed to get on track for net zero in the long term.”
Despite the record investment in clean energy, BloombergNEF estimates for the world to get on a CO2 emissions trajectory for net zero by 2050, global investment must immediately triple, with an annual average of US$4.55 trillion for the remainder of this decade.
China is the world’s leading country for attracting energy transition investment, accounting for US$546 billion in 2022, with the US second at US$141 billion.