Investment in renewable energy across the globe hit a new record high of £202.3 billion in 2015, as shown by the study "Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment". Interestingly, the investment in renewable energy, excluding large hydro technology, was actually higher in developing countries than developed countries.
Solar energy received the highest investment, with biofuels, wind and biomass receiving the second, third and fourth highest amount of investment, respectively.
In his foreword to the study, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "We have entered a new era of clean energy growth that can fuel a future of opportunity and greater prosperity for every person on the planet. Governments, businesses and investors around the world are realising that the progression to low-emission, climate-resilient growth is inevitable, beneficial and already under way".
However, UN Environment Programme Finance Initiatives' Eric Usher, while acknowledging that the findings were positive, has some concerns over renewable energy investment: "There is a still a lot of uncertainty, especially within Europe, with a degree of policy backtracking or the phasing down of support for the (renewables) industry." This has been evident in the UK. For example, it was announced in December 2015 that subsidies for solar energy from the Government would be cut by 64%, whilst subsidies for new onshore wind farms have been stopped; although this does not mean they won't still be developed. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) have, in the recent past, made it clear that their target for investment is the nuclear, offshore wind and shale gas industries.
Lead author of the study, Angus McCrone believes that renewable energy was attractive to investors because it can be built very quickly, as opposed to coal-fired power stations or nuclear plants.
However, the increase in investment in renewables is not, in itself, enough to tackle climate change. Ban Ki-moon then warned in his foreword that we must shift away from fossil fuels immediately to avoid global temperature rise, and advised that: "For the low-carbon transformation of the global economy to succeed, governments will need to create a level playing field for clean energy investment through carbon pricing, removing fossil fuel subsidies and strengthening stable and predictable regulatory and investment environments."
