Investment bank SEB sees one benefit of the global gas shortage as investors spending over $400 billion this year on power generation from clean renewables. That’ll be a 25% rise on last year, the Stockholm-headquartered bank forecasts.
According to the bank’s latest report on sustainable finance, released last month, 2022’s increase in RE spending will have two main motivators –
- governments spending more on energy infrastructure and
- corporates looking to invest in decentralised energy, as a hedge against rocketing gas prices.
“We think 2022 could be the year when the world finally breaks with a decade of stagnation in renewable energy investment and starts moving back to a more Paris-aligned transition path”, Thomas Thygesen, head of research of SEB’s climate and sustainable finance division writes.
“The main reason is the energy crisis currently hitting Europe and Asia in particular”.
“However, the problem is not just about 2022″, Thygesen goes on.
“If we need additional energy supplies, then the past years’ investment level is too low, suggesting we now either have to ramp up investment or prepare for a long period of shortages and elevated prices”.
“After a decade in which clean energy investment was capped at $300bn, we expect a jump to close to $400bn as governments start to spend more on infrastructure,” Thygesen notes.
“We see upside to that estimate as companies faced with sky-high energy bills may see the possibility to offset that cost by engaging in now extremely profitable investments in de-centralised renewable energy supplies.”
Read the report here.
