Published: 17:56, June 6, 2024
IEA expects global clean energy investment to hit $2 trillion in 2024
By Reuters
An aerial drone photo taken on May 21, 2024 shows a wind power project in Baoying county of Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

LONDON — Global investment in clean energy technology and infrastructure is set to hit $2 trillion this year, twice the amount going into fossil fuels, an International Energy Agency report showed.

Total energy investment is expected to exceed $3 trillion for the first time in 2024, the IEA said in its annual World Energy Investment report.

More spending is focused on solar photovoltaic (PV) than any other electricity generation technology with investment set to grow to $500 billion in 2024 due to falling solar module prices

Some $2 trillion is set to go to clean technologies – including renewables, electric vehicles, nuclear power, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency improvements and heat pumps - with the rest directed towards gas, oil and coal.

READ MORE: China leads development of clean energy

Combined investment in renewable power and grids overtook the amount spent on fossil fuels for the first time in 2023.

"For every dollar going to fossil fuels today, almost two dollars are invested in clean energy," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

"The rise in clean energy spending is underpinned by strong economics, continued cost reductions and by considerations of energy security," he added.

More spending is focused on solar photovoltaic (PV) than any other electricity generation technology with investment set to grow to $500 billion in 2024 due to falling solar module prices.

READ MORE: Clean energy boosted by tech, supply chains

Global upstream oil and gas investment is expected to increase by 7 percent in 2024 to $570 billion, following a similar rise in 2023. This was mostly led by national oil companies in the Middle East and Asia, the report said.