Finance

Spending on Global Energy Transition Hits Record $500 Billion

  • Low-carbon investments in 2020 increased 9%, BNEF finds
  • Growth was uneven, with a rise in Europe, drop in the U.S.

One of the biggest drivers of new energy transition spending this year was from clean transportation.

Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg
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The world spent a record $501.3 billion in 2020 on renewable power, electric vehicles and other technologies to cut the global energy system’s dependence on fossil fuels.

The investments in the transition to a low-carbon economy marked a 9% increase over 2019 and came despite disruptions from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report out Tuesday from BloombergNEF.