According to research commissioned by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), achieving a goal of net-zero emissions on a global scale will require a climate investment of $125 trillion by 2050.
More than 130 countries have set or are considering a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, and in 2021, the world spent $755 billion on deploying low-carbon energy technologies, up 27% from the year prior. The top 10 countries together invested $561 billion in the energy transition, nearly three-fourths of the world total.
This graphic highlights the top 10 countries by low-carbon energy investment in 2021 using data from BloombergNEF:
This information graphic was provided by The Visual Capitalist.
It should be noted that China has increased its overall energy transition investment by 60% from 2020 levels. China’s renewables commitment is impressive—The country’s wind and solar capacity increased by 19% in 2021. Electrification of transportation has also accounted for a large portion of China’s transition investment.
The U.S. invested $114 billion in clean energy last year, up 17% from 2020, making it second to China. Several European countries also made the top 10 list, with Germany, U.K., and France rounding out the top five. In total, European countries invested $219 billion in the energy transition.
Kevin Clemens is a Senior Editor with Battery Technology.
