Renewables are at the heart of the global energy transition, a transition that promises to put the world on a climate-safe pathway while ensuring universal access to sustainable, reliable and affordable energy. The urgent need for accelerated renewable energy investments is further underscored by the widening effects of climate change around the world, growing food shortages and the looming energy crisis. An energy sector based on renewables can offer improved energy security and independence, price stability and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, all of which are required to achieve climate and sustainable development goals. To that end, significant capital must be shifted from fossil fuels to renewables at a faster pace. Investments in renewables must more than triple from their current level.

This is the third edition of the biannual Global landscape of renewable energy finance report, jointly produced by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI). Since the last edition of the report, the world has experienced a multitude of crises including COVID-19, the conflict in Ukraine and associated supply chain disruptions, more frequent and destructive climate-induced disasters, and global inflation. The current crises present both a challenge and an opportunity for accelerated deployment of renewable energy.

On the one hand, they provide the political momentum for hurrying the deployment of energy transition technologies. Indeed, the crisis in Ukraine has forced a global reckoning with the fact that 80% of the world’s population live in countries that are net energy importers, a situation that carries profound implications for energy security and affordability.

On the other hand, tighter fiscal circumstances and higher costs of capital are dimming the prospects for renewable energy, which is particularly capital intensive. The current uncertain macroeconomic outlook, with inflation at levels not seen in many countries for over 40 years and the possibility of sovereign defaults, could threaten renewable energy development, especially in low-income countries.