Global Landscape of Renewable Energy Finance 2020

The report finds that while renewable energy investment reached USD 322 billion in 2018, it must almost triple to USD 800 billion by 2050 to meet climate goals. Investment is heavily concentrated in China, the US, and Western Europe, with a dominance of solar PV and onshore wind. The private sector provides 86% of capital, primarily through project developers. Off-grid renewables, though growing, represent less than 1% of total energy access finance, with Sub-Saharan Africa as the primary destination.

• Solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind power dominated the market between 2013 and 2018, attracting 46% and 29% of global renewable energy investments, respectively.
• Investment is geographically skewed; East Asia and Pacific attracted the largest share (32% of commitments from 2013-2018), while regions dominated by developing and emerging economies attracted only 15%.
• The private sector was the primary capital provider for renewables from 2013 to 2018, accounting for 86% of investments, with project developers providing 46% of that private finance.
• Project-level conventional debt overtook project-level equity as the most used financial instrument starting in 2017, reaching 32% of total investments in 2017-2018.
• The COVID-19 pandemic caused a 34% drop in renewable energy investments in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.
• Off-grid renewable energy commitments grew from USD 250,000 in 2007 to USD 460 million in 2019, yet they still represent less than 1% of overall finance for energy access projects.
• Sub-Saharan Africa was the primary destination for off-grid renewable energy, attracting 65% of global investments between 2007 and 2019, with a strong concentration in East Africa.
• Private investors provided 67% of cumulative commitments to off-grid renewables from 2007 to 2019, with private equity, venture capital, and infrastructure funds contributing 35% of the total.

APA

Strinati, C., Diab, S., Lozo, S., Naran, B., Furio, V., & Linstaedt, J. (2020). Global Landscape of Renewable Energy Finance 2020. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Global-Landscape-of-Renewable-Energy-Finance-2020.pdf

Chicago

Strinati, Costanza, Sufyan Diab, Sandra Lozo, Baysa Naran, Valerie Furio, and Jakub Linstaedt. Global Landscape of Renewable Energy Finance 2020. Climate Policy Initiative, 2020. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Global-Landscape-of-Renewable-Energy-Finance-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{strinati2020global, author = {Strinati, Costanza and Diab, Sufyan and Lozo, Sandra and Naran, Baysa and Furio, Valerie and Linstaedt, Jakub}, title = {{Global Landscape of Renewable Energy Finance 2020}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2020}, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Global-Landscape-of-Renewable-Energy-Finance-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }