In May 2022, the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation and TransLink’s Board of Directors approved the agency’s 2022 Investment Plan, followed by a commitment by the Government of British Columbia of CAD2.4 billion to support transit investments. The 2022 Investment Plan will help advance the objectives of Transport 2050, Metro 2050, and Climate 2050.
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On 1 June, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) issued a new set of green guidelines. These lay out detailed expectations for banks and insurance companies to identify, monitor, prevent and control their environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks. Policymakers in China have been showing a growing interest in green finance. Traditionally, policies in the area have mainly focused on encouraging financial flows into supporting green, non-polluting and low-carbon businesses.
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The cost declines seen in 2021 may not be repeated for solar PV and wind power in 2022, as supply chain constraints have been having an impact since late 2020, while commodity price rises accelerated in late 2021. These two factors saw equipment prices increase after experiencing lows in the first half of 2020, when the pandemic first took hold. Yet, the impact of these factors on projects commissioned in 2021 was not enough to raise the full year weighted average LCOE in many individual markets, nor at a global level.
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The total cost of implementing NDCs in Africa is estimated at USD 2.8 trillion over 2020- 2030. This includes the estimation of loss and damage when provided by countries. Of this, national governments have committed to providing USD 264 billion (about 10%), with the remaining USD 2.5 trillion identified as climate finance needs. Across all African regions, reported needs greatly exceed country allocations from national government budgets.
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If the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) becomes a binding agreement that delivers on its ambitions, many Asia Pacific economies could receive a boost to their clean energy needs. The US-led IPEF can complement the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Together, they would cover countries which need a combined annual spend of about USD1.27T to hit the 1.5°C climate goal.
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Over the past decade, the installation cost of geothermal power plants has increased, from USD2,620 per kW in 2010 to USD4,468 per kW in 2020. According to IRENA, geothermal is the second most expensive renewables type by installation cost, closely behind concentrated solar power’s 4,581 USD per kW in 2020.
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While Africa accounts for almost one‐fifth of the world’s population, it attracts less than 5% of global energy investment. This is spread unevenly across the continent. Ten countries accounted for 90% of private investment in energy and electricity infrastructure on the continent over the last ten years, South Africa alone accounting for nearly 40%. Total energy investment in Africa was already declining prior to the pandemic and fell even more quickly in 2020, by over 20%.
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Solar PV and wind power continued to dominate new investment in renewables, with solar PV accounting for 56% of the 2021 total, and wind power for 40%. The strong growth in solar PV investment in 2020 expanded further in 2021, rising nearly 19% to reach USD205 billion. Wind power investment fell 5% to USD147 billion, reflecting a sharp decline in offshore wind power investment (down 45%) and a smaller increase in onshore wind power investment (up 16%).
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Elevated gas prices and a future tight market means blue hydrogen is no longer a low-cost solution; IEEFA estimates that blue hydrogen costs published by the UK government last year are now 36% higher, calling into question continued policy support for development of the technology. Blue hydrogen is an extension of the gas value chain and does not make sense as an investment during a gas price crisis.
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Several high-profile investors have entered Vietnam’s C&I market. The French utility group EDF and its local partner, investment fund VinaCapital, have committed USD100 million over the next three years for a pipeline of 200 MWp of C&I rooftop solar power systems. South Korean conglomerate SK Group has pledged USD200 million and a 250 MWp installation target in the next few years, with local partner Nami Energy.
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The survey looks at the range of offer prices for solar and onshore wind PPAs across 10 European markets. Solar PPAs are generally more expensive than wind by up to 10 euros/MWh in each respective market, although the average gap has narrowed from 6.7 to 4.5 euros since 2H 2020. This is because onshore wind prices rose slightly more on average (9.4%) than solar (5.7%) over that time.
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Increased public financing is required to de-risk private investment and support the development of new infrastructure. Reforms to improve transparency of climate-related data will help underpin efforts to incorporate climate risks into financial regulatory frameworks and develop transition risk modelling among financial institutions, helping to align capital allocation decisions.
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Cutting emissions from high-carbon industries, such as steel and cement making, is crucial to China’s efforts to meet its dual carbon targets, of peaking by 2030 and neutrality before 2060. But low-carbon restructuring, and adopting and commercialising greener technologies, will be tough to do at scale. A recent report from the CBI found China needs to spend between 2.2 trillion and 12.5 trillion yuan change.
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Indonesia requires USD 154 billion of investments to achieve the renewable target of 23% by 2025, and public funding is expected to only cover 51% of this requirement. The pandemic may cause further setbacks, as portions of the public budget have been diverted. In this context, the role of the private sector becomes increasingly critical for Indonesia to achieve its 2025 target and enable a sustainable recovery.
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Today, there are several investors that have dedicated funds to invest in green bonds, and the Indian government intends to heighten the participation of international investors in the domestic bond market. It is expected that the government’s green bonds will set a precedent and are likely to open up the local market further. The issuance will be part of the government’s overall market borrowing of Rs 14.95 trillion in 2022-23, though the issue size for the green bonds has not been specified yet.
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Energy transition investment follows familiar patterns in global capital markets. Last year, energy transition and climate tech (renewable energy, energy storage, electrified vehicles and heating, hydrogen, nuclear power, sustainable materials and the carbon capture) attracted more than $900 billion. Energy transition investment alone reached $755 billion, up by a quarter over 2020 investment, double what was invested in 2015, and a more than 20-fold increase since 2004.
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In a year in which both global and U.S. M&A activity in aggregate reached record levels, renewable energy M&A contributed to the mix in terms of high deal volume and landmark transactions. The market for renewable energy assets, portfolios and platforms remained hot, despite industry headwinds that included disruptions to supply chains, trade developments that negatively impacted the sector and policy uncertainty.
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Thailand is well-positioned to mobilize capital from the green bond markets to support green infrastructure investment. Within ASEAN, Thailand has a mature bond market. The Thai bond market has grown rapidly in the aftermath of the 1997 economic downturn and is the second largest among ASEAN bond markets (next to Malaysia), with an annual average growth of 10%.
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Overall, the majority of climate finance (61%, USD 384 billion) was raised as debt, of which 12% was low-cost or concessional. High shares of domestic flows dominated in Western Europe, US & Canada, and East Asia & Pacific, accounting for 76% of the global flows while, inversely, a higher share of international finance was observed in the developing regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
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The Build Back Better Act contains the heart of President Biden’s domestic agenda, including over $500 billion in climate and clean energy provisions that are necessary for the U.S. to meet its climate goals. While the fight for the Build Back Better Act is not over, we also must ensure that existing federal funds are put to the best decarbonization uses possible. In November, President Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
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