IEA: “Capital spending is insufficient to tackle the energy and climate crises”

The current level of global capital spending is still far from sufficient to combat the energy and climate crises.

That’s one of the findings of the new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) which estimates that global energy investment is set to increase by 8% this year to reach $2.4 trillion (£1.9tn), with the anticipated rise coming mainly from renewables and energy efficiency.

The IEA suggests the rise in clean energy spending is not evenly spread – most of it is expected to take place in advanced economies and China.

The authors of the report also note that energy security concerns and high prices are prompting higher investment in fossil fuel supplies, most notably on coal.

They estimate that clean energy investment grew by only 2% a year in the five years after the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said: “We cannot afford to ignore either today’s global energy crisis or the climate crisis, but the good news is that we do not need to choose between them – we can tackle both at the same time.

“A massive surge in investment to accelerate clean energy transitions is the only lasting solution. This kind of investment is rising, but we need a much faster increase to ease the pressure on consumers from high fossil fuel prices, make our energy systems more secure and get the world on track to reach our climate goals.”

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