Solar power will receive the highest level of investment out of any energy source. Credit: Entergy Corporation.

Global investment in clean energy technology and infrastructure is set to reach $2trn in 2024, twice the amount going into fossil fuels, according to the IEA.

In its annual World Energy Investment report, the IEA said total energy investment is expected to exceed $3trn for the first time in 2024.

Of that figure, $2trn will go towards clean technologies such as renewables, electric vehicles, nuclear power, storage, grids, low-emissions fuels, efficiency improvements and heat pumps, with the remaining $1trn directed towards oil, gas and coal.

In 2023, combined investment in renewable power and grids overtook the amount spent on fossil fuels for the first time.

IEA executive director Fatih Birol: “For every dollar going to fossil fuels today, almost two dollars are invested in clean energy. The rise in clean energy spending is underpinned by strong economics, continued cost reductions and by considerations of energy security.”

Investment in solar photovoltaic (PV) is set to grow to $500bn in 2024, the most ever spent on any electricity generation technology, due to falling solar module prices.

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Global upstream oil and gas investment is expected to increase by 7% in 2024 to $570bn, mostly driven by national oil companies in the Middle East and Asia, according to the report. This follows a similar trend in 2023. Clean energy investment by oil and gas companies reached $30bn in 2023, accounting for only 4% of the industry’s overall capital spending.

China is expected to contribute the largest share of clean energy investment in 2024 with an estimated $675bn (4.89trn yuan), while Europe is set to account for $370bn and the US $315bn.

However, the report added that there are still shortfalls in clean energy investment, with spending being highly concentrated in certain areas of the world. “For every dollar invested” in battery storage, for example, in advanced economies and China, “only one cent was invested in other emerging and developing economies”, the report said.