By 2030, 826GW of new renewable energy will be added globally, with a total investment of nearly trillion US dollars

As COVID-19 hits the fossil fuel industry, a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance BNEF shows that renewable energy is more cost-effective than ever, providing an opportunity to prioritize clean energy in economic recovery plans and bringing the world closer to meeting the goals of
the Paris Agreement.

The 2020 Global Renewable Energy Investment Trends report, jointly released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UNEP Collaborating Centre of the Frankfurt School and BNEF, analyzes investment trends in 2019 and the commitments
made by clean energy countries and businesses over the next decade.

The study found that the cost of promising the equivalent of 826 GW of new non-hydro renewable energy generation capacity by 2030 could be about $1 trillion
.

。 Limiting global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius, the main goal of the Paris Agreement, would require an additional 3,000GW by 2030, depending on the combination
of technologies chosen.
But the planned investment is also far below the $2.
7 trillion
spent on renewable energy over the past decade.

However, the report shows that the cost of installing renewable energy has reached a new low, meaning future investments will provide more capacity
.
Renewable energy capacity, excluding large hydroelectric dams over 50 MW, grew by 184 gigawatts (GW)
in 2019.
This is the highest annual increase ever and represents an increase of 20 GW, or 12%,
over the new capacity commissioned in 2018.
But dollar investment in 2019 was only 1% higher than the previous year, reaching $282.
2 billion.

Thanks to technological advances, economies of scale and fierce auction competition, the total or average cost of wind and solar energy is declining
.
In the second half of 2019, the electricity cost of new solar PV plants was reduced by 83%
compared to a decade ago.

"There are growing voices calling on governments to use their COVID-19 recovery plans to create a sustainable economy," said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, "and research shows that renewable energy is one of
the smartest and most cost-effective investments they can make in these options.
" ”

"If governments take advantage of falling renewable energy prices and put clean energy at the heart of the COVID-19 economic recovery, they can take a big step toward a healthy natural world, the safest policy to respond to a global pandemic," Andersen said
.

Over the past decade, renewable energy has been eating into the dominance of fossil fuels in power generation
.
Nearly 78% of the new net installed global power generation capacity in 2019 came from wind, solar, biomass and waste, geothermal, and small hydropower
.
Investment in renewable energy, which excludes large-scale hydropower, is more than
three times that of investment in new fossil fuel plants.

Nils Stieglitz, Dean of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, said: "We are seeing the energy transition in full swing, with the highest installed capacity of renewable energy ever
.
At the same time, the fossil fuel industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, with electricity demand for coal and natural gas falling in many countries and oil prices plummeting
.
Climate and the COVID-19 crisis, despite their different nature, are devastating
.
Both crises have demonstrated the need to increase climate ambition and shift the world's energy supply to renewable energy
.
”

Investments in 2019 raised the share of renewables, excluding large-scale hydropower, in global power generation to 13.
4 percent
from 5.
9 percent in 2009.
Jon Moore, CEO of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said: "Clean energy will be at a crossroads
in 2020.
Tremendous progress has been made over the past decade, but the official 2030 target falls far short of what is needed to address climate change
.
As the current crisis eases, governments need to step up measures and actions
not only on ambitious renewable energy, but also in the areas of decarbonization of transport, buildings and industry.
”