A new report from the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests that investment in green energy may now be more expensive than fossil fuels, due to increased prices of petrol, diesel, gas and coal, policy support and climate change. fuel) has increased by 70 percent.
In its ‘World Energy Investments 2023’ report, the agency said, ‘For every US$1 spent on fossil fuels, US$1.7 is being spent on clean energy. Five years ago this ratio stood at 1:1.
The agency said that in 2023 an investment of $ 2.8 trillion is expected in the energy sector. Of this, more than $1.7 trillion will be invested in clean energy, including renewable power, nuclear, grids, storage, low-emission fuels, efficiency improvements, and electrification. electrification). The remaining $1 trillion will go to fossil fuels, with 15 percent going to coal alone.
However, there has been a shortfall in coal supply, the report said. But investment in coal is above pre-pandemic levels and is expected to increase by a further 10 per cent in 2023.
According to the report, investment in new coal-fired power plants has been declining over time. However, 2022 saw more surprises for coal as 40 gigawatts (GW) of new coal plants were approved, the highest number since 2016. It is important to note that most of these approvals went to plants in China. China is currently focusing a lot on electricity as it has already faced electricity challenges in 2021 and 2022. It is worth noting that China is also rapidly including coal plant approvals in its system along with these low emission technologies on a large scale.
The IEA said that given the fast pace of the war in Ukraine, more investments are being made towards clean energy technologies. In the field of clean energy, special attention is being paid to renewable energy and electric vehicles (EV). Most of the investment is being made in solar energy for electricity generation.
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Maximum investment is being seen in solar energy. Solar is expected to exceed $1 billion in daily spending by 2023. According to this figure, solar energy is expected to cost $ 380 billion in a year. Please tell that this record is being spent for the first time. At the same time, investment in the Electric Vehicle (EV) sector has also doubled from 2021.
It has been said in the report that there is an increase in the demand for electric cars. Sales are expected to jump by more than a third this year after a record-breaking 2022. As such, investment in EVs is expected to more than double by 2021 and reach $130 billion in 2023.
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The report also states that if investment in green energy continues at the rate seen from 2021, total spending on low-emission electricity, grid, storage and end-use electrification in 2030 will exceed the world’s declared climate But it will exceed the levels needed to meet the expenditure.
“For some technologies, notably solar, this would match the investment required for 1.5°C stabilization in global average temperature,” the report said.
