Investments in carbon-neutral technologies, stimulated by the energy and climate crisis, are expected to total US$1,7 trillion this year (8,4 trillion reais), compared to US$1 trillion (R$4,94 trillion) for oil, gas and coal, says the AIE in its annual investment report (🇬🇧), published this Thursday (25).
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Carbon-neutral energies include renewables (wind, solar, etc.), as well as nuclear, heat pumps or electric car batteries. Investments in all of these activities are expected to increase by 24% in the period 2021-2023.
The values allocated to hydrocarbons and coal continue, in turn, to advance at a rate of 15% per year.
“Clean energy is advancing rapidly, more quickly than many imagine,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
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“For every dollar invested in fossil energy, 1,7 is currently allocated to clean energy. Five years ago the ratio was 1-1,” he added.
Solar energy is the “star”, with “more than a billion dollars per day in investments” and a predicted total of 380 billion in 2023, above the US$ 370 billion that will be allocated to oil exploration and extraction, highlights the AIE annual report.
Another example: investment in electricity generation is currently dominated by 90% of low carbon emission technologies.
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The trend was reinforced by the impact of the war in Ukraine on the price of fossil energy and by measures to support renewable energy in the European Union, China and the United States.
The Sun King and the Coal King
The IEA, linked to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), warns, however, of imbalances in the process, largely concentrated in China and countries with advanced economies.
There are signs of progress in India, Brazil and the Middle East, but in other regions investments in clean energy are far behind, highlights the entity, which calls for the mobilization of the international community to remedy the situation.
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“This crowns solar power as a true energy superpower that is emerging as the greatest tool we have for rapidly decarbonizing our entire economy,” said Dave Jones of energy think tank Ember.
“The irony is that some of the sunniest places in the world see the lowest levels of investment in solar energy. And this is an issue that demands attention,” she added.
The IEA also points out that spending on oil and gas prospecting and exploration will increase by 7% this year, a level similar to 2019, which moves the world away from the possibility of achieving carbon neutrality by mid-century.
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The agency highlighted in 2021 the need to discard all new fossil energy exploration projects to move towards the objectives.
Carbon neutrality, which means emitting less greenhouse gases that the planet can absorb, is necessary for the global warming do not exceed the level of 1,5ºC compared to the pre-industrial era, with the aim of avoiding serious and irreversible climate impacts.
Coal demand, however, reached a record level in 2022 and investments in the sector this year will be six times higher than what the IEA recommends in 2030 for the planet to reach emissions neutrality.
Last year, large oil and gas companies allocated less than 5% of their production costs to energy with low carbon emissions (biogas, wind, etc.) and carbon capture and storage.
(With AFP)
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