Wednesday 2 June 2021

Governments of 23 countries announce $250bn investment in clean energy

The governments of 23 countries have come together to invest $250 billion (£177bn) into clean energy research and development across the next decade.

This investment is part of the second phase of the Mission Innovation initiative, which was launched alongside the Paris Agreement in 2015.

The 23 countries involved are together responsible for more than 90% of global public investment in clean energy innovation and are now looking to increase this investment. The aim is to demonstrate the affordability of these clean technologies during this decade to countries across the globe and provide the confidence needed to set clean energy goals.

This announcement follows a continued increase in the investment of clean technology since 2015, with Denmark, Germany and Sweden increasing their investment by 75% or more and the UK doubling its levels of investment.

Mission Innovation 2.0 was launched at the 'Innovating to Net Zero' Summit in Chile, with President of Chile Sebastián Piñera commenting: “Chile is proud to kick off this exciting next chapter of Mission Innovation in this vital year of climate action.

“Through innovation, collaboration and most importantly action, we have the tools we need to fight climate change and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. As we focus on this new decade of innovation, Mission Innovation members’ shared goal of accelerating the transition to faster, cleaner, affordable energy for all is more achievable than ever.”

Alok Sharma, COP26 President for the UK, added: “Accelerating the transition to clean energy will be essential if we are to keep the 1.5-degree goal within reach.

“To achieve this, international collaboration on innovation in sectors like power, transport and industry will be crucial. We need countries to commit to raising their climate ambition, to take action and to make this target a reality.”