Investment in clean energy will hit a record this year but fall short of what is needed to tackle the climate crisis, with coal spending rising, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.

Global energy investment will rise by eight percent to $2.4 trillion in 2022, mainly thanks to renewables, although soaring inflation and Russia's invasion of Ukraine are weighing on costs, the IEA said in an annual report.

Investment in all sectors will increase but the fastest growth will come from electricity, mainly in renewables and grids, and energy efficiency.

Clean energy investment is "finally" starting to pick up and is expected to reach $1.4 trillion this year, accounting for almost three-quarters of the growth in overall spending in energy, the IEA said.

Since 2020, investment in clean energy has grown at an annual rate of 12 percent, "well short of what is required to hit international climate goals, but nonetheless an important step in the right direction," according to the report.

This compares to an annual growth rate of just over two percent in the five years that followed the 2015 Paris climate pact.

Inflation has soared worldwide as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pushed energy prices higher.

The IEA said almost half of the additional $200 billion in capital investment in energy in 2022 "is likely to be eaten up by higher costs, rather than bringing additional energy supply capacity or savings."

The costs are due to supply chain bottlenecks, tight markets for specialised labour and higher energy prices, it said.

The IEA also flagged a "warning sign": Investment in coal supply rose by 10 percent in 2021, led by emerging economies in Asia, and is set for a similar increase this year.

While China has pledged to stop building coal-fired power plants abroad, a "significant amount" of new coal capacity is coming onto the Chinese domestic market, the agency said.

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Sanctioned Russia becomes China's main source of oil
Beijing (AFP) June 20, 2022
China ramped up crude oil imports from Russia in May, customs data showed Monday, helping to offset losses from Western nations scaling back Russian energy purchases over the invasion of Ukraine. The spike means Russia has overtaken Saudi Arabia to become China's top oil provider as the West sanctions Moscow's energy exports. The world's second-biggest economy imported around 8.42 million tonnes of oil from Russia last month - a 55 percent rise on-year. Beijing has refused to publicly conde ... read more