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Dec 15, 2021 - Energy & Environment

Developing markets see climate finance drop

Ben Geman
Data: BloombergNEF; Note: Data includes asset finance for renewable energy, electrified transport and electrified heat. It does not include investment to undisclosed countries, which represented $14 billion in 2020. Developed markets include OECD countries, minus Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Turkey. Developing markets include all other economies. Chart: Thomas Oide/Axios
Data: BloombergNEF; Note: Data includes asset finance for renewable energy, electrified transport and electrified heat. It does not include investment to undisclosed countries, which represented $14 billion in 2020. Developed markets include OECD countries, minus Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Turkey. Developing markets include all other economies. Chart: Thomas Oide/Axios

Global clean energy investment hit record levels in 2020 despite the pandemic, but the overall rise masked a decline in developing countries, new data shows.

Driving the news: The research firm BloombergNEF, in a summary, said investors "retreated hastily from less developed markets to refocus on wealthier countries as the Covid-19 pandemic spread."

How it works: The BloombergNEF analysis tracks asset finance for renewable power, vehicle electrification and electrification of heating.

Why it matters: Pathways to lower carbon emissions show a need for greatly expanded investment in both longstanding industrial economies and developing markets.

  • For instance, an International Energy Agency report this month said despite surging global renewable power growth, its scenario for net-zero emissions by 2050 requires a doubling of projected capacity additions over the next half-decade.
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