Shift to clean energy accelerating, but coal investments too high, report says

By VICTORIA MILKO and ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL
AP Science Writers

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The International Energy Agency says energy security concerns and policy support from rich countries are speeding up reliance on clean energy. But investments in coal power are on course to be nearly six times beyond what is needed for the world to meet targets for achieving net-zero carbon emissions. An IEA report issued Thursday says $2.8 trillion is due to be invested in energy globally this year. More than $1.7 trillion of that is expected to go to clean technologies. However, the report says global coal demand reached an all-time high in 2022 and some 40 gigawatts of new coal plants were approved. That’s the highest figure since 2016, almost all of it in China.