The International Energy Agency stated that as countries seek to address potential energy shortages, investment in clean energy will reach $1.7 trillion in 2023, surpassing fossil fuel expenditures. The Paris based organization stated in its World Energy Investment Report on Thursday that global energy investment is expected to reach $2.8 trillion in 2023, with over 60% allocated to clean technologies, including renewable energy, electric vehicles, nuclear energy, and heat pumps.

The report states that the remaining 40% will be used for coal, natural gas, and crude oil. Clean energy is developing rapidly - faster than many people realize. This is evident in the investment trend that clean technology is moving away from fossil fuels, "said Fatih Birol, executive director of the institution. For every dollar invested in fossil fuels, approximately $1.70 is now used for clean energy. Five years ago, this ratio was one-on-one, "Mr. Birol said. A shining example is the investment in solar energy, which will exceed the investment in oil production for the first time.

The institution stated that driven by renewable energy and electric vehicles, clean energy investment will increase by 24% from 2021 to 2023, while fossil fuel investment is expected to increase by 15% during the same period. However, the report states that over 90% of this growth is concentrated in developed economies and China, and if the transition to clean energy lags behind in other regions, there is a risk of energy disparities.

The institution stated that solar energy and other low emission technologies will account for nearly 90% of power generation investment. In recent years, clean energy investment has been driven by various factors, including a period of strong economic growth and fluctuations in fossil fuel prices that have raised concerns about energy security.

The agency stated that at the same time, it is expected that upstream oil and gas expenditures will increase by 7% in 2023, returning to pre pandemic levels. Although the rise in crude oil prices has brought record profits, most fossil fuel producers allocate their cash flows to dividends, stock repurchases, and debt repayments, rather than reinvesting in supply.

The few oil companies that invested more than before the Covid-19 pandemic were mostly large state-owned oil companies in the Middle East. According to the agency's 2050 net zero emissions scenario, fossil fuel investment in 2023 is expected to increase to more than twice the level required by 2030.

Meanwhile, it is expected that coal investment in 2023 will be nearly six times higher than the estimated level in 2030 under the net zero emission scenario, which requires clean energy investment to increase to approximately $4 trillion by the end of this decade. The biggest gap in clean energy investment is in emerging and developing economies. There are some highlights, such as India's dynamic investment in solar energy and renewable energy investment in Brazil and parts of the Middle East, according to the International Energy Agency. However, investment in many countries is being hindered by factors such as rising interest rates, unclear policy frameworks and market designs, weak power grid infrastructure, financial constraints on public utilities, and high capital costs.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, global investment in energy transition technologies must quadruple to $35 trillion by 2030 in order to remain consistent with commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement. The Abu Dhabi based institution stated that investment in renewable energy technology reached a record $1.3 trillion in 2022, but this number must increase to around $5 trillion annually to achieve the key goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 ° C above pre industrial levels under the Paris Agreement. In the "2023 World Energy Transformation Outlook" released in March.Editor/XingWentao