Global Investment in Low-Carbon Energy Hits Record High in 2024: Insights and Future Outlook
Key Ideas
- Global investment in low-carbon energy transition reached a record $2.1 trillion in 2024, marking an 11% increase from the previous year.
- Main drivers of growth included electrified transport, renewable energy, and power grid enhancements, with China leading the investment landscape.
- Proven technologies like renewables and EVs dominated investments, while emerging technologies like hydrogen and clean shipping faced challenges.
- Despite the record investment levels, there is a need for increased funding and collaboration to achieve global net-zero targets by 2050.
In 2024, global investment in the low-carbon energy transition surged to a record $2.1 trillion, representing an 11% increase from the previous year, as reported by BloombergNEF. The growth was fueled by advancements in electrified transport, renewable energy, and power grid enhancements. Electrified transport led the way with $757 billion in investments, encompassing various categories like passenger EVs, charging infrastructure, and fuel cell vehicles. Renewable energy saw investments of $728 billion, covering sectors such as wind, solar, and biofuels. Power grid investments totaled $390 billion, focusing on transmission lines and grid digitalization. Mainland China stood out as the leader in global investments, contributing $818 billion, while the US, EU, and UK experienced varied investment levels. Proven technologies like renewables and EVs attracted substantial investments, unlike emerging technologies including hydrogen and clean shipping, which faced challenges like affordability and scalability. Despite the positive momentum, the current funding only represents 37% of the $5.6 trillion needed annually from 2025 to 2030 to align with global net-zero goals by 2050. BNEF underscores the importance of public-private partnerships to scale emerging technologies efficiently. Collaboration is deemed crucial to drive emission reductions by the end of the decade, highlighting the significance of further investment and support in the clean energy sector.