Low Clean-Energy Spending in Poor Countries Puts Climate Goals in Peril

As the world’s richest economies invest in new and cleaner power supplies, it’s vital for everyone that poorer nations don’t get left behind. Investments in clean energy in these economies will need to surge to over $1 trillion a year by the end of the decade in order to meet global climate goals, up from less than $150 billion in 2020, according to a new report the International Energy Agency. Already, developing and emerging markets have seen annual investments in the energy sector fall around 20% since 2016. It’s a stark contrast to European countries and the U.S. that pioneered the burning of fossil fuels, but are now able to spend a lot more to cut their carbon footprints.

“This is the most critical fault line in the international fight against climate change,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. He urged Group of Seven leaders, who are meeting in Cornwall, England later this week, to commit to meeting the goal set by developed-country signatories of the Paris Agreement to mobilize $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries. “That should be the floor,” Birol said. “International financial institutions could be the catalyst.”

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