About $200B invested in production of environmentally friendly energy technologies – IEA

The clean energy sector is not only growing rapidly, but has already become a powerful economic force, reads the first analysis of the International Energy Agency (IEA) on the contribution of clean energy to the global economy, Report informs.

“Clean electricity accounted for around 80% of new capacity additions to the world’s electricity system in 2023, and electric vehicles for around one out of five cars sold globally. At the same time, global investment in clean energy manufacturing is booming, driven by industrial policies and market demand. Employment in clean energy jobs exceeded that of fossil fuels in 2021 and continues to grow.

Our new country-by-country and sector-by-sector analysis finds that in 2023, clean energy added around USD 320 billion to the world economy. This represented 10% of global GDP growth – equivalent to more than the value added by the global aerospace industry in 2023, or to adding an economy the size of the Czech Republic to global output. Clean energy is moving towards center stage in the global energy system – and as its importance rises, a new clean energy economy is emerging.”

“The clean energy sector also drove a substantial share of total investment growth across the economy in these regions in 2023. In the case of China, it contributed 50% of the growth in total investment in 2023, and 20% in the United States. At the global level, we estimate that around USD 200 billion was invested in clean energy technology manufacturing in 2023, an increase of 75% over the previous year. This compares with global capital investment in semiconductor manufacturing of around USD 170 billion to 250 billion per year in recent years.”