World spends USD 313bn on renewables in 2015 - IEA

At USD 313 billion (EUR 284bn) renewable energy investment accounted for almost a fifth of total global energy spending in 2015, which fell 8% from 2014, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The energy system is shifting towards cleaner energy, IEA said, but more is needed to achieve climate goals. IEA executive director Fatih Birol said the shift was often a result of government policies and called on governments to not only maintain but heighten efforts to achieve energy security and climate targets.

Total global spending in the energy sector fell to USD 1.8 trillion, mainly due to a drop in upstream oil and gas investment, while investment in renewables, electricity networks and energy efficiency remained robust.

While still accounting for the largest part of global energy investment, the share of fossil fuels contracted to 55% from 61% in 2014. The share of renewables rose to 17% from 16%, of networks to 14% from 12% and of efficiency investments to 12% from 10%.

Electricity generation investment was USD 420 billion, of which renewables, mainly wind, solar and hydropower, provided about 70%, or USD 288 billion.

IEA said that spending on renewable power capacity was flat between 2011 and 2015. Due to the steep falls in wind and solar costs, however, electricity generation from the new capacity rose by one third.

The EU invested USD 55 billion in renewable power, or over 85% of Europe's generation investments. In the US renewable electricity investment was almost USD 40 billion, or nearly 90% of generation spending. The biggest investor in renewable power capacity was China with over USD 90 billion, which represented more than 60% of total generation investment.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.909)

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