Global clean tech investments - Statistics & Facts
Investments in cleantech have boomed in recent years. Amidst growing awareness of climate change, energy security concerns, and volatile energy prices, global investments in low-carbon energy transition technologies increased 17 percent in 2023, to a record high of 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars. For 2024, spending on clean energy technology and infrastructure is expected to be almost twice the amount going toward fossil fuels. With the cleantech industry now more important than ever, can global investment keep up momentum to ensure a sustainable future?
Meanwhile, the EU is taking its own steps to stay competitive with the U.S. and China in the global cleantech race. In 2024, the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) came into force, with the aim of attracting investment to the region and enhancing the EU’s manufacturing capacity for net-zero technologies. It is estimated that the EU will require more than 90 billion euros of public and private investment by 2030 to scale the manufacture of six key technologies under the NZIA.
Which cleantech segments are luring investors?
Cleantech is the umbrella term for a set of technologies that aim to reduce negative environmental impacts through sustainable practices or processes. Though the industry covers a range of innovative solutions set to reduce GHG emissions over the coming decades, the segments that currently attract the most investment are electrified transportation and renewables. These two technologies each received over 600 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, representing almost three-quarters of global energy transition investment that year. Falling costs have made solar PV particularly attractive for investors. The energy and transportation segments also receive the largest shares of climate-tech venture capital funding worldwide, having collectively attracted over 30 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.China leads the global cleantech race
Soaring investments have seen China become a cleantech giant, with the Asian country now dominating key clean energy technology markets such as solar, wind, and batteries. In 2023, China was the largest investor in the global clean energy transition by far, at almost 680 billion U.S. dollars. This not only accounted for some 33 percent of the global total that year, but it was also double the investments in the U.S. Still, the North American country is no slouch in the cleantech industry and has its sights firmly set on supplanting China as the industry’s superpower. Cleantech investment in the U.S. has become increasingly attractive since the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which aims to support the clean energy transition and increase domestic manufacturing of low-carbon technologies through various subsidies.Meanwhile, the EU is taking its own steps to stay competitive with the U.S. and China in the global cleantech race. In 2024, the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) came into force, with the aim of attracting investment to the region and enhancing the EU’s manufacturing capacity for net-zero technologies. It is estimated that the EU will require more than 90 billion euros of public and private investment by 2030 to scale the manufacture of six key technologies under the NZIA.
