IEA chief says solar power investment will exceed oil for the first time

Solar energy investment will overtake spending on oil production this year for the first time, the head of the International Energy Agency has said.

“If these clean energy investments keep growing in line with what we’ve seen over the past few years. , , We will soon start to see a very different energy system emerging and we can keep the 1.5C target alive,” Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, told the Financial Times, referring to the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise. With reference to the target.

$1.7 trillion is expected to be spent on clean technologies this year, compared to $1 trillion on fossil fuels. Five years ago, $2tn in annual energy investment was split evenly between fossil fuels and clean technologies, such as renewables, electric vehicles and low-emission fuels.

Birol noted that a “new global clean energy economy is emerging”, and added: “For a guy like me who gets his hands dirty with data every day, this is a striking, dramatic change.”

Increased spending on clean energy is being driven by a strong rebound in economic growth following the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as price volatility and concerns about energy security, according to the IEA’s annual report but was caused by a full-scale invasion of Russia. The World Energy Investment Report was published on Thursday.

Enhanced policy support such as the US Inflation Reduction Act, which provided $369 billion in subsidies and tax credits for clean energy technologies, has also helped, the report said.

As a result, the IEA expects annual clean energy investment to increase by 24 percent compared to 2021, while spending on fossil fuels will increase by 15 percent.

Birol said solar energy was “the star of global energy investment”, with total spending expected to exceed $1 billion per day, more than spent on oil production.

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The IEA chief recently attended the G7 summit in Japan and said he was encouraged by the level of alignment on energy matters between G7 members and invited countries such as Brazil, India and Indonesia. “I have rarely seen such a homogeneous view of the future of energy markets,” he said.

But to keep the momentum going, G7 leaders need to ensure that current spending on clean energy is more widespread to emerging and developing countries, Birol said. “If there is one challenge, it is whether emerging countries will be able to finance their clean energy transition alone,” he said.

The IEA said in March that global energy-related carbon emissions rose 0.9 percent last year to a record 36.8 billion tons, despite a jump in clean energy spending.

Biol also called on national and international oil companies to direct more of their spending toward low-carbon energy solutions. According to the IEA’s analysis, total investment by the oil and gas industry on low-emission sources of energy is less than 5 percent of the total spent on fossil fuel production.

“I hope there is more parity between what the heads of international and national oil companies say about their concerns about climate change and what they do in terms of their investments,” Birol said.

Solar energy investment will overtake spending on oil production this year for the first time, the head of the International Energy Agency has said.

“If these clean energy investments keep growing in line with what we’ve seen over the past few years. , , We will soon start to see a very different energy system emerging and we can keep the 1.5C target alive,” Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, told the Financial Times, referring to the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise. With reference to the target.

$1.7 trillion is expected to be spent on clean technologies this year, compared to $1 trillion on fossil fuels. Five years ago, $2tn in annual energy investment was split evenly between fossil fuels and clean technologies, such as renewables, electric vehicles and low-emission fuels.

Birol noted that a “new global clean energy economy is emerging”, and added: “For a guy like me who gets his hands dirty with data every day, this is a striking, dramatic change.”

Increased spending on clean energy is being driven by a strong rebound in economic growth following the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as price volatility and concerns about energy security, according to the IEA’s annual report but was caused by a full-scale invasion of Russia. The World Energy Investment Report was published on Thursday.

Enhanced policy support such as the US Inflation Reduction Act, which provided $369 billion in subsidies and tax credits for clean energy technologies, has also helped, the report said.

As a result, the IEA expects annual clean energy investment to increase by 24 percent compared to 2021, while spending on fossil fuels will increase by 15 percent.

Birol said solar energy was “the star of global energy investment”, with total spending expected to exceed $1 billion per day, more than spent on oil production.

You are viewing a snapshot of an interactive graphic. This is probably due to being offline or JavaScript is disabled in your browser.

The IEA chief recently attended the G7 summit in Japan and said he was encouraged by the level of alignment on energy matters between G7 members and invited countries such as Brazil, India and Indonesia. “I have rarely seen such a homogeneous view of the future of energy markets,” he said.

But to keep the momentum going, G7 leaders need to ensure that current spending on clean energy is more widespread to emerging and developing countries, Birol said. “If there is one challenge, it is whether emerging countries will be able to finance their clean energy transition alone,” he said.

The IEA said in March that global energy-related carbon emissions rose 0.9 percent last year to a record 36.8 billion tons, despite a jump in clean energy spending.

Biol also called on national and international oil companies to direct more of their spending toward low-carbon energy solutions. According to the IEA’s analysis, total investment by the oil and gas industry on low-emission sources of energy is less than 5 percent of the total spent on fossil fuel production.

“I hope there is more parity between what the heads of international and national oil companies say about their concerns about climate change and what they do in terms of their investments,” Birol said.