Coal investments to rise 10 per cent, IEA says

JAKARTA, I NDONESIA Energy security concerns, worsened by the war in Ukraine, and policy support from rich countries will probably help investments in clean energy outpace spending on fossil fuels, the International Energy Agency said in a report issued this week.

But investments in coal are on course to rise by about 10 per cent in 2023 — that’s nearly six times what the IEA has estimated they should be for the world to end its reliance on fossil fuels and achieve emissions cut goals for countering climate change, it said.

“We are in a significantly better place than we were a few years ago,” Tim Gould, IEA’s chief energy economist, said at the report’s launch. “There’s still a very long way to go, but there are finally some encouraging signs for us all to welcome.”

About $2.8 trillion (U.S.) is set to be invested in energy globally in 2023, of which more than $1.7 trillion is expected to go to clean technologies including modern electricity grids, energy storage, lowemissions fuels and electric vehicles, according to the organization’s latest World Energy Investment report.

Slightly more than $1 trillion is going to coal, gas and oil — fossil fuels that are a major source of emissions that are contributing to global warming.

Part of the problem is that demand for energy is outstripping increases in supplies in many parts of the world.

About $2.8 trillion (U.S.) will be invested in energy globally in 2023, of which more than $1.7 trillion is for clean technologies