According to a report published in May by the International Energy Agency, the clean energy investments needed to limit temperatures from warming to 2 degrees Celsius: an additional $44 trillion ( 32 trillion euros ) by 2050.
This means spending an additional $1.2 trillion in cleantech ( like solar, wind, geothermal, bioenergy…. ) per year for the next 36 years is needed in order to limit climate risk. But this represent investments, not costs.
Indeed, these investments would result in over $115 trillion in fuel savings. This represent would a net savings of $71 trillion. (51 trillion euros).
Another report, this time from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), points out to the fact that the world needs to invest $550 billion (400 billion euros) in renewables per year until 2030.
As RTCC points out :
Coupled with action on energy efficiency, it says this would put the renewable sector on course to provide 36% of the energy mix by 2030. Business as usual would deliver a 21% share.
Speaking at a conference in New York last week, Adnan Amin, director general of IRENA, said: “We need to double the level of investment that we are seeing today to significantly scale up renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions to an acceptable level.
“This level of investment together with energy efficiency measures will help mitigate the catastrophic impact of climate change.”
The figure, produced in IRENA’s renewable energy roadmap report, includes energy consumption from buildings, transport and industry as well as electricity generation.
The majority of investment is expected to go into wind, solar and hydro power generation, but renewable heating and cooling is identified as an important emerging sector.