Reduction of investments in natural gas and oil by 25% in 2015

Investments in oil and natural gas decreased by 25% in 2015, while the energy from renewable sources increased by …
more than 30%, according to the first report of global energy investment International Energy Agency (IEA).
“We have not seen such a reduction in investments for oil and natural gas,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of the agency.
“Our findings carry a very important message about climate change and the agreement of Paris,” he added.
The replacement of fossil fuels by renewable energy sources is considered crucial in the battle against climate change..
According to the report of the International Energy Agency, which focuses on issues of energy security, the total investment in the field of global energy decreased by 8% in 2015, στα1,8 trillion dollars.
In part, the decline in investment in oil and natural gas due to the lower cost of crude oil and other products of fossil-fuel industry.
Despite the fact that investments in renewable energy sources was approximately the same for the last four years, the increase of efficiency and the lowest cost of capital led to an increase in the electricity produced from these technologies by 33% in 2015.
During the last five years, the price of solar energy has decreased by 80%, while the cost of wind energy has decreased by one-third overall. In addition, offshore wind energy, which is traditionally considered to be expensive, became more competitive, as well as increased sizes of wind turbines and apply more efficient methods of construction.
The fall in the price of renewable energy has not been reflected in the nuclear field, as there are still concerns about nuclear safety and the safe storage and disposal of nuclear waste.
Despite the encouraging developments, there are still large-scale investment in coal, with more than $ 60 billion invested in projects of coal last year, mainly in Asia and Australia.
The continued investment in coal is often due to lack of the necessary infrastructure for the support of other, cleaner forms of energy in countries such as India and Indonesia, as well as the failure of governments to support renewable energy sources.
China is still the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world, although the report states that 60% of the total energy costs in the country last year was renewable energy.
The IEA predicts that fossil fuel investments will continue to decrease in the coming years, but the energy sector, particularly in transport, will continue to depend on oil and natural gas.
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