RENEWABLE INVESTMENT DOWN

FT - Investment in renewable power declined last year by its largest amount ever and is likely to keep falling this year, threatening global climate goals.

Capital spending in renewable power generation fell 7 per cent in 2017 compared with the previous year, owing to declines in onshore wind and hydropower investment, according to a report from the International Energy Agency. The world's leading energy watchdog reported that overall global energy investment dropped 2 per cent in the same period.

Fatih Birol, the IEA's executive director, said the declines in clean power and energy efficiency were "worrying".

"The current investment trends are insufficient both in terms of addressing security of supply concerns and environmental concerns," Mr Birol told the Financial Times.

Following the Paris climate agreement in 2015 more than 170 countries agreed to try limiting global warming to well below 2C, an effort that will require huge investments in low-carbon energy systems.

But with global carbon emissions rising again and investment in renewables falling, there are concerns about how the goals of the Paris agreement can be met.

The IEA's report shows that renewable power investment fell to $298bn in 2017 from $318bn in 2016, representing the biggest absolute drop since the agency started keeping track of clean power in 2000.

Investments in energy efficiency measures — such as improving systems for heating, cooling and lighting so that buildings consume less power — also saw weaker growth than in previous years.

The electricity sector as a whole attracted the largest share of energy investments in 2017 amid greater spending on grids. More than $750bn was spent on electricity out of total energy investments of $1.8tn last year.

Investment in fossil fuel energy supply stabilised at about $790bn last year as a drop in spending in coal and liquefied natural gas offset a 4 per cent rise in oil and gas exploration and production.

After a brutal industry downturn, the IEA said energy companies had continued to prioritise cost control, financial discipline and returning cash to shareholders. This suggested that the industry was shifting towards so-called short-cycle projects, such as in US shale, which take less time to develop but can also suffer from steep price declines. This has raised fears that the global oil market could face a supply crunch.

Bloomberg NEF, a research organisation, said this month that world investment in clean energy, a category for which it excludes large hydropower projects, was $138.2bn in the first six months of 2018, down 1 per cent from the same period last year.

The research body expected "a cooling-off" in China's solar boom this year after Beijing said it would restrict new installations that required a national subsidy.

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Earlier:

2018, July, 23, 13:25:00 GLOBAL ENERGY INVESTMENT DOWN 2% IEA - For the third consecutive year, global energy investment declined, to USD 1.8 trillion (United States dollars) in 2017 – a fall of 2% in real terms. The power generation sector accounted for most of this decline, due to fewer additions of coal, hydro and nuclear power capacity, which more than offset increased investment in solar photovoltaics.

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2018, April, 20, 08:40:00 IEA'S CLEAN ENERGY IEA - Dr Fatih Birol, the International Energy Agency’s Executive Director, met Monday with Peter Altmaier, Germany’s Minister of Economy and Energy. The bilateral meeting focused on the IEA’s role in the global clean energy transition thanks to its expertise across all fuels and energy technologies, as well as energy efficiency.

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