Global landscape of renewable energy finance

Global energy transition investments reached a record USD 1.3 trillion in 2022, but this is less than one-third of the annual USD 5 trillion needed to meet the 1.5°C Scenario. While renewable energy investments grew to nearly USD 0.5 trillion in 2022, they remain heavily concentrated in solar and wind technologies and a few regions, primarily East Asia and Pacific. Developing and emerging markets receive a disproportionately small share of finance; for example, Sub-Saharan Africa received less than 1.5% of global investments between 2000 and 2020. The report emphasizes that private capital prioritizes low-risk, commercially viable projects, leaving a critical gap in less mature technologies and high-risk regions. It argues for a fundamental shift in public financing, moving beyond simple de-risking to provide more grants, concessional loans, and innovative instruments like local currency lending and green bonds to ensure a just and inclusive transition.

• Global investments in energy transition technologies reached a record high of USD 1.3 trillion in 2022, representing a 19% increase from 2021.
• Current investment levels are insufficient for the 1.5°C Scenario, which requires average annual investments of over USD 5 trillion between 2023 and 2030.
• Fossil fuel investments are increasing again after a pandemic-era dip, reaching USD 953 billion in 2022, and are estimated to cost USD 570 billion annually for new oil and gas development through 2030.
• Fossil fuel subsidies doubled in 2021 across 51 countries, rising from USD 362 billion in 2020 to USD 697 billion.
• Renewable energy investments are highly concentrated in solar and wind; in 2020, solar PV attracted 43% of total investment, onshore wind 35%, and offshore wind 12%.
• There is a severe geographic disparity in financing: in 2022, more than 50% of the world's population, mostly in developing and emerging countries, received only 15% of global renewable investments.
• Sub-Saharan Africa's share of global renewable investment is extremely low, receiving less than 1.5% of the total amount invested globally between 2000 and 2020.
• Investment per capita disparities are stark; by 2021, investment per capita in Europe was 41 times higher than in Sub-Saharan Africa, and North America's was 57 times higher.
• The private sector provides the majority of renewable energy investment, accounting for approximately 75% of the total between 2013 and 2020.
• Off-grid renewable energy investments reached a record USD 558 million in 2021, but this is far below the USD 2.3 billion needed annually for off-grid solar products alone to achieve universal access.
• Off-grid investments are heavily concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa, which attracted 71% (USD 2.2 billion) of overall off-grid investments between 2010 and 2021.
• Public financing for renewables is primarily domestic; international public finance flows to renewable energy have been declining since 2018.
• Green bond issuances have grown significantly, reaching a cumulative value of approximately USD 1.64 trillion by the end of 2021.

APA

Hawila, D., Rana, F., Strinati, C., Stout, S., Connolly, J., Fajrian, S., Barbalho, A., & Lozo, S. (2023). Global landscape of renewable energy finance. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IRENA_Global_Landscape_Renewable_Energy_Finance_2023.pdf

Chicago

Hawila, Diala, Faran Rana, Costanza Strinati, Sean Stout, Jake Connolly, Sandy Fajrian, Antonio Barbalho, and Sandra Lozo. Global landscape of renewable energy finance. Climate Policy Initiative, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IRENA_Global_Landscape_Renewable_Energy_Finance_2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{hawila2023global, author = {Hawila, Diala and Rana, Faran and Strinati, Costanza and Stout, Sean and Connolly, Jake and Fajrian, Sandy and Barbalho, Antonio and Lozo, Sandra}, title = {{Global landscape of renewable energy finance}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2023}, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IRENA_Global_Landscape_Renewable_Energy_Finance_2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }