Rise In Global Clean Energy Investment For 2021 Falls Short Of Net Zero Pathway - Report

Clean energy investments in 2021 are expected to comprise just four percent of global oil and gas company budgets, up from 1 percent in 2020 but far below amounts needed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report on Wednesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2021) Clean energy investments in 2021 are expected to comprise just four percent of global oil and gas company budgets, up from 1 percent in 2020 but far below amounts needed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report on Wednesday.

"The anticipated USD 750 billion to be spent on clean energy technologies and efficiency in 2021 is encouraging but remains far below what's required to put the energy system on a sustainable path," an IEA press release explaining the report said.

The 2015 Paris accord on climate change sets a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century.

The influence of pandemic recovery packages and new climate policy measures reflects rising expenditure in 2021 on renewable power, electricity grids, energy efficiency - notably in the buildings sector in Europe - and emerging technologies such as carbon capture, utilization and storage, and low-carbon hydrogen, the report said.

But the net-zero-emission goal would require a tripling of clean energy investments the remainder of the decade, thereby keeping the door open for a 1.5 degrees Celsius stabilization called for in the Paris Accord, the IEA report said.

The Paris-based IEA represents 30 industrial nations and eight associate members, including major energy consumers China and India.