New clean energy investment in developing nations dropped to USD 111.4 billion (EUR 96.1bn) in 2016 from USD 151.6 billion in 2015, according to data collected as part of the Climatescope analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).
China was responsible for three quarters of the fall, but clean energy investment in all other countries not part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was also down 25% compared to 2015, BNEF said today.
According to the research firm both rich and poor countries are falling short of promises to tackle climate change through investment in clean energy.
Eight years ago at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the wealthiest countries vowed to make USD 100 billion per year available for climate-related investment in developing countries by 2020. Clean energy investment from OECD countries to non-OECD countries, however, declined to USD 10 billion in 2016 from USD 13.5 billion in 2015, BNEF said. According to the UNFCCC Standing Committee estimates other climate-related investment, not including clean energy, was USD 60.5 billion in 2014, which leaves the combined figure far from the USD-100-billion goal.
Non-OECD countries, on their part, need to beef up efforts in putting in place policies that are key to attracting investment. BNEF said that of the 71 nations it looked into in detail, 76% have set CO2 containment targets, but only 67% have feed-in tariffs (FiTs) or auctions to support clean energy projects, and only 18% have greenhouse gas emissions reduction policies.
"The figures highlight the gap between talk and action when it comes to addressing climate and supporting clean energy," said Ethan Zindler of BNEF. "Wealthier countries have been slower to ramp investment than might have been expected, given the promises made eight years ago at Copenhagen. But poorer nations have in many cases not built the policy frameworks needed to build investor confidence and attract clean energy investment," Zindler added.
BNEF noted that as developing countries are expected to experience the fastest economic and electricity demand growth going forward, supporting clean energy investment in them is important for addressing climate change.
(USD 1 = EUR 0.862)
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Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance
