Global Landscape of Renewable Energy Finance 2020

This report, co-developed by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Climate Policy initiative, provides actionable recommendations for policy makers and other stakeholders to scale up investment and mobilise capital in the sector.

Some key findings:

• Renewable energy investment reached USD  322  billion in 2018, with modest growth seen to continue through 2019. However, the pace must accelerate considerably for the world to meet internationally agreed climate goals.
• To ensure a climate-safe future, annual investment in renewables – including various types of power generation, solar heat and biofuels – would have to almost triple to USD 800 billion by 2050.
• Solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind power technologies consolidated their dominance in 2013-2018, attracting, respectively, 46% and 29% of the world’s renewable energy investments over the five-year period.
• Solar thermal investments (6%), including concentrated solar power (CSP) and solar heating systems, have gradually slackened. They have fallen behind offshore wind (7%), which has held the third-largest investment share among renewables since 2014. Hydropower represented 4% of investments over the period, while other renewables accounted for just 3%.