The decarbonization of the economy is progressing more slowly than experts consider essential, but it is making progress. One of the most compelling hard facts regarding this process is the comparison between investment in oil production and investment in the construction of solar power plants. According to the International Energy Agency, in 2013, US$623,000 million (in 2022 dollars) was invested in oil production and US$127,000 million in solar power generation. Ten years later, in 2022, the picture is completely different: for the first time, investment in solar energy (US$382,000 million) exceeded that in oil production (US$371,000 million). 

This is despite the fact that the oil sector’s profits in 2022 were extraordinary. But unlike in the past, when more than half of oil companies’ profits were directed toward reinvestment in production, this proportion stood at 48% in 2022. However, it wasn’t such a green shift: only 1% of profits went toward investments in low-carbon projects. The bulk was used to pay dividends or repay debt.

By 2023, the IEA projects that global energy investment will total US$2.8 trillion (billion), of which US$1.7 trillion will be invested in clean energy.