Record investments in 2024 in the transition to low-carbon energy

Investments in the transition to low-carbon energy have reached a record amount, reveals the 2024 report from the BloombergNEF firm published a few days ago, according to which "much remains to be done" to achieve global climate objectives.

Last year, "investments in the global energy transition increased 11% to a record $2.100 trillion," Bloomberg New Energy Finance observed.

Growth was driven by electrified transport, renewable energy and electricity grids, all of which reached new highs last year, as well as investments in energy storage,” the annual report details.

"While overall investment in energy transition technologies set a new record, the pace of growth was slower than the previous three years, when investments jumped 24 to 29 percent annually," BloombergNEF noted.

The "engine" of these investments remains electrified transport - for example electric cars or two-wheelers but also charging infrastructure - which raised 757 billion dollars last year.

Investments in renewable energy reach $728 billion, and include investments in wind (onshore and offshore), solar, biofuels, biomass, geothermal and small hydroelectric plants.

For their part, investments in electricity networks totaled 390 billion dollars.

China alone accounted for $818 billion in investment, 20% more than in 2023. "China's total investment last year was greater than the combined investment of the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union," it said.

The report "shows how the energy transition has progressed in recent years, despite political uncertainty and high interest rates," said Albert Cheung, deputy managing director of BloombergNEF.

However, he believes that "much remains to be done, particularly in emerging areas such as industrial decarbonisation, hydrogen and carbon capture, in order to achieve global net-zero consumption targets".

In total, the report estimates that "global investments in the energy transition should average €5.600 trillion each year between 2025 and 2030 in order to put ourselves on a path to global net zero by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement."

On this point, "China is closest to the path forward, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom," BloombergNEF reports.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.