Countries across the globe are investing in a low-carbon future to bring down the levels of global warming. Many of them have been successful in using solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources on a large scale. The finances continue to flow towards technologies that can help in the development of renewable energy.
In 2019, the world made heavy investments in increasing onshore and offshore wind energy capacity. This was followed by investment in solar energy. One can attribute this to falling costs and developments in technology that have happened over the years. Listed below are the top five countries that are investing in future energy solutions:
1. China
It came as a surprise to many that China could be a leader in renewable energy. The country had led the world in increasing renewable energy capacity in 2019. In 2020, it slipped back on the investments made in future energy solutions. More than half of the total funding on renewable energy by the nation was on wind power.
The next attractive future energy was solar energy, which was allocated more than $29 billion. The technologies that are used to develop smart energies didn’t get the required funding as expected. Investments made in hydro-electricity, biomass energy, low-carbon alternatives, and biofuels increased considerably.
2. United States
The United States of America had the second-highest amount of investments made in future energy solutions. The investments made in renewable energy by this country has been increasing every year. America reached the second-highest position in installed wind energy capacity. This was despite the fact that the country saw reduced financing with regards to wind energy.
It was more than $1 billion in 2018, but came down to $600 million in 2019. There was a decrease in the financing when it came to energy-smart technologies. Investments in biomass, low-carbon services, geothermal energy, and biofuels reached $3.6 billion in 2019.
3. India
India saw a slight decrease in investments made for developing clean energy solutions. They came down to $11.4 billion in 2019 from $11.7 billion in 2019. It happened despite the efforts made by the country to ramp up its share of renewable energies. The investments in solar energy increased in 2019, from $6.9 million in 2018 to $8.1 billion in 2019.
Investments in wind energy took a big hit in 2019. They decreased to $2.5 billion compared to $4.2 billion in 2018. However, the funding on energy-smart technologies, biomass energy, and biofuels increased to $800 million from $600 million in 2018.
4. United Kingdom
Funding on renewable energy in the country experienced a decrease in 2019. It was down to $9.5 billion from $11.3 billion during 2018. There was a drop in the funding of wind energy in 2019. Despite this decrease, wind energy remained the most popular source of clean energy for investors. The investments made on solar power increased from $200 million in 2018 to $600 million in 2019.
There was a slight increase in funding for the development of energy-smart technologies. Investments made on biomass energy, geothermal energy, and biofuels dropped from $2.5 billion in 2018 to $1.7 billion in 2019.
