Investment in renewable energy has continued to increase around the world despite moves by Donald Trump’s White House to cancel and derail low-carbon projects.
In the first half of 2025, investment globally in renewable technologies and projects reached a record $386bn, up by about 10% on the same period last year.
Investment in energy around the world is likely to hit about $3.3 trillion (£2.4tn) this year. While more than $1tn of the total is still likely to flow into fossil fuels, double that amount – about $2.2tn – is expected for low-carbon forms of energy.
A report from the Zero Carbon Analytics thinktank, published on Tuesday, shows that the rate of increase in renewable energy investment has not slowed significantly. Between the first half of 2023 and of 2024, the total increased by 12% and from 2022 to 2023 the increase was 17%.
Joanne Bentley-McKune, research analyst at the group, said: “This shows the sector still has momentum and underlying strength. There has been a decline [in the rate of growth] but it aligns with the average [of the last three years], and suggests that renewable energy investment is more resilient than might have been expected.”
Finance for onshore and offshore wind increased by about a quarter in this first half of this year, reaching £126bn. China and Europe were the biggest markets for offshore wind.
Since January this year, at least $470bn in future clean energy finance has been announced, according to the report, of which roughly three-quarters is slated for energy grids and electricity transmission. This is good news for governments hoping to reach their commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions, as ageing and inadequate grids have been a major bottleneck for the achievement of renewable energy goals.
A separate report, also published on Tuesday, found that big companies are also continuing to press ahead with their climate promises, despite hostility from Donald Trump’s administration in the US, and some high-profile moves to row back on commitments.
According to data compiled by the Net Zero Tracker, a research consortium made up of thinktanks and academics, companies representing about 70% of the revenue of the top 2,000 listed companies globally were actively pursuing net zero plans.
While Trump has pulled the US out of the Paris climate agreement, and dismantled federal efforts to tackle the climate crisis, not all of the US has followed the federal government’s lead: 19 states remain committed to net zero, and 304 large companies headquartered in the US have net zero targets, up from 279 last year. Together, those companies account for nearly two-thirds of US corporate revenue, or about $12tn in revenue globally.
John Lang, lead author of the report, said the impact of the White House on climate decisions made by large companies appeared limited. “Talk of a net zero recession is overblown. Backtracking is confined to fossil fuels and their financiers, while more companies are moving from box-ticking to real emission cuts – a long-overdue reset,” he said.
But countries and companies still need to move faster, the report found. Although more are now putting measures in place to match their commitments, there is still a large gap between aspiration and action.
Thomas Hale, professor of global public policy at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University, said: “US companies know they need to keep pace with the EU, China and other regions where climate policy is increasingly shaping competitiveness. Net zero is less a political battleground and more a race to secure future markets, investment and jobs.”
