Report by Jillian Ambrose in The Guardian
Report by Kate Abnett in Reuters
Report by Caroline O’Doherty in the Irish Independent
Short Account by Bill Wade from Bloomberg Green
| A new investment record |
| By Will Wade Global spending on the clean-energy transition hit record highs as the world moves to rein in climate change, but it’s still not enough to get on track to net-zero emissions. Total spending surged 17% last year to $1.8 trillion, according to a report Tuesday from BloombergNEF. These include investments to install renewable energy, buy electric vehicles, build hydrogen production systems and deploy other technologies. Add in the investments in building out clean-energy supply chains, as well as $900 billion in financing, and the total funding in 2023 reached about $2.8 trillion.The record spending reflects the growing urgency of international efforts to combat climate change on the heels of the hottest year on record — and even more heat expected this year. However, the world needs to be investing more than twice as much in clean technology in order to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century, according to BNEF.  China remains the biggest market by far with $676 billion spent last year. That’s an increase of only 6% compared to 2022, though. Investments in the US, the UK and Europe grew by at least 22%, in comparison, to a combined total of $718 billion. That was driven in part by incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, the flagship US climate law, which is starting to have a significant impact. Strong sales of electric vehicles in the UK as well as booming demand for renewables across Europe also helped drive up the total. Read the full story here. |