IEA: Clean Investment Surge Needed to Meet Climate Goals

IEA: Clean Investment Surge Needed to Meet Climate Goals

The world has no option other than to finance a huge, sevenfold surge in investment into clean energy in emerging and developing economies if climate goals are to be met, an IEA report said Wednesday.

"In many emerging and developing economies, emissions are heading upwards while clean energy investments are faltering, creating a dangerous fault line in global efforts to reach climate and sustainable energy goals," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

The Financing Clean Energy Transitions in Emerging and Developing Economies report calculated that annual clean energy investment must increase more than sevenfold -- from less than $150 billion in 2020 to more than $1 trillion by 2030 if the world is to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

The IEA, which last month said no new fossil fuel projects should be given the go-ahead if the 2050 net-zero target is to be met, estimated energy-related carbon dioxide emissions from developing countries will grow by five billion tons over the next two decades, making clean energy investment a top global priority.

But a lack of funds and the economic damage wrought by the pandemic were hampering the green fight, Birol said as the IEA unveiled alongside the World Bank and the World Economic Forum