Global investment in solar energy is expected to exceed, for the first time this year, the amounts invested in oil extraction, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced Thursday.
The IEA said, however, that it expects “a rebound” in fossil fuel financing.
Around 380,000 million dollars (354,000 million euros) should be channeled this year to solar energy (mainly photovoltaic), that is, more than 1,000 million dollars (932 million euros) per day, according to the annual report of the AIE dedicated to energy investments.
The report predicts that oil production (exploration and extraction) will be less, in the order of 370,000 million dollars (345,000 million euros).
Investment to be channeled into solar energy this year will exceed, for the first time, the amount invested in oil production, experts said.
“Clean energy is progressing rapidly, faster than many people realize,” IEA director Fatih Birol said.
“For every dollar invested in fossil fuels, around 1.7 dollars (1.6 euros) go to clean energy. Five years ago the ratio was 1 to 1,” he said.
In particular, “solar power is the star,” the paper stated, noting that 90% of global investment in electricity production is now dominated by low-carbon technologies.
The volatility of fossil fuel prices, reinforced by the war in Ukraine, and the support measures adopted by the EU, China, Japan and the United States reinforced this trend.
However, the IEA has warned that China and advanced economies will be too dominant in this move.
And despite some investments in solar energy in India, Brazil or the Middle East, investments elsewhere are difficult, warned the agency, an arm of the OECD, which has called for the international community to mobilize on this issue.
“Solar power is being crowned a true energy superpower, the main means we have to rapidly decarbonise the economy,” reacted Dave Jones of the energy think tank Ember.
“The irony is that some of the sunniest places in the world have the lowest levels of investment in solar energy, so this is an issue that will need to be addressed,” he added.
Another major drawback noted by the IEA is that oil and gas exploration and production spending is expected to grow 7% in 2023, a return to 2019 levels, moving the world further away from the carbon neutral path of midcentury.
In 2021, in a widely publicized scenario of carbon neutrality, the IEA stressed the need to immediately abandon all new fossil fuel projects.
Carbon neutrality, which implies not emitting more greenhouse gases than can be absorbed, aims to keep global warming below 1.5° Celsius, to avoid greater and irreversible impacts.
However, last year the demand for coal reached an all-time high and investment in this sector in 2023 would have to be six times what the IEA recommends for 2030, to reach neutrality.
Last year, the oil and gas giants channeled the equivalent of less than 5% of production spending into low-carbon energy (biogas, wind, etc.) and carbon capture.
Although it is slightly higher for large European companies, this percentage has not progressed globally compared to 2021, the IEA noted.
Source: TSF
