Report shows that global energy investment exceeded $2 trillion last year.

BloombergNEF reported on Thursday that global investment in the low-carbon energy transformation exceeded $2 trillion last year for the first.

Why it's important

Many experts believe that the pace of development is too slow. Countries all over the world are developing and investing in cleaner energy sources and infrastructure, but they still have not met the climate targets set by the Paris Agreement.

To achieve a net-zero emissions target before the mid-century, global energy investment must average $5.6 trillion per year between 2025 and 2030. BloombergNEF’s annual energy investment trends report stated that current investment levels only represent 37% of the required investment to get back on track.

By the Numbers

According to the report, investment in low-carbon energy transformation grew 11% to $2.1 trillion last year, driven by investments in renewable energy, electric grids, electrified transportation and energy storage.

The pace of investment growth has slowed down compared to the three previous years, when it grew between 24-29% per year.

China was the largest investment market, with $818 billion invested, up 20 percent from 2023.

CONTEXT

Donald Trump, the U.S. president who returned to office this week, was one of the first to pull out of the Paris Agreement. This will reduce U.S. climate financing internationally and increase global warming.

KEY QUOTE

There is much more to be done to achieve global net-zero, particularly in areas such as industrial decarbonisation and hydrogen. Albert Cheung is the deputy chief executive at BloombergNEF. (Reporting and editing by Christina Fincher, Nina Chestney)

(source: Reuters)