Fuelling the Future: How Business, Finance and Policy can Accelerate the Clean Fuels Market

The report argues that while clean fuels are essential for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors, a significant investment gap exists, with current annual investments of ~$25 billion falling far short of the $100 billion needed by 2030. It identifies key barriers including high capital intensity, feedstock constraints, and policy instability, and proposes a dual-track approach of scaling mature blend-in fuels while innovating in next-generation pathways.

• Liquid and gaseous fuels currently supply 56% of global final energy use and are projected to remain vital, providing 40-55% of energy demand by 2050 across various scenarios.
• There is a substantial investment gap in the clean fuels sector; annual investments must increase fourfold from approximately $25 billion to $100 billion by 2030 to meet global ambitions.
• A significant portion of the clean fuel project pipeline is stalled, with only about 10% of announced new capacity for 2030 having reached a final investment decision (FID).
• Clean fuels provide significant societal value, including the potential to reduce annual CO2 emissions by 1.0-2.5 billion tonnes by 2050 and creating 10-30 jobs per $1 million invested, compared to 5-10 for conventional fuels.
• The report identifies a 'dual focus' for market scaling: expanding existing commercial pathways like biogas, bioethanol, and biodiesel as near-term 'stepping stones', while accelerating innovation in early-stage pathways to reduce emissions intensity.
• Feedstock availability is a primary constraint for mature biofuels; waste oils and lipids are expected to reach supply limits by 2030 due to high demand and strict sustainability criteria.
• Most clean fuel pathways can reduce lifecycle emissions by at least 50% compared to conventional fuels, with some optimized setups achieving over 90% reduction or becoming net-negative through carbon capture.
• Investment is hindered by high capital intensity and risk; for example, reducing the financing cost of a bio-SAF project by 3 percentage points (from 15% to 12%) can lower levelized production costs by approximately 15% per barrel.

APA

World Economic Forum (2026). Fuelling the Future: How Business, Finance and Policy can Accelerate the Clean Fuels Market. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Fuelling_the_Future_2026.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Fuelling the Future: How Business, Finance and Policy can Accelerate the Clean Fuels Market. 2026. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Fuelling_the_Future_2026.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Fuelling the Future: How Business, Finance and Policy can Accelerate the Clean Fuels Market |date=January 2026 |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Fuelling_the_Future_2026.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2026fuelling, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Fuelling the Future: How Business, Finance and Policy can Accelerate the Clean Fuels Market}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2026}, month = jan, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Fuelling_the_Future_2026.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }