Data has suggested that global and UK investment in renewable energy remains robust, despite an 8 per cent fall in overall energy sector investment globally.
The news comes following the publication of World Energy Investment 2016 – a comprehensive report carried out by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The report found that renewable investments reached almost $290billion (£222.16bn) in 2015 – the highest figure currently on record.
In the UK, a record £15.2bn was invested in ‘clean’ or renewable energy over the same period, according to separate data released by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) at the beginning of 2016.
BNEF has suggested that the record UK investment can be attributed partly to an increase in finance secured for large offshore wind farms and “the improving cost-competitiveness of solar and wind power”.
However, despite significant increases in renewable investment recorded, IEA director Fatih Birol has suggested that, globally speaking, the world will need to “triple efforts” in renewable investments in order to successfully meet energy targets for 2020 agreed at last year’s Paris climate talks.
“It makes me happy that the numbers show Governments can change the direction of investment,” he said.
“We are seeing real action in dollar terms but it is not yet enough – we need to triple efforts to meet the Paris targets,” he added.
The IEA’s global energy report can be accessed here:http://www.iea.org/Textbase/npsum/WEI2016SUM.pdf
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