IEA says regional disparities persist despite 2024 clean energy investment surge

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has found that almost twice as much capital was invested in 2024 in clean energy as was spent on fossil fuels.

A report in the IEA’s Clean Energy Transitions newsletter said the declining costs of clean energy technologies, heightened energy security concerns and climate goals have all led to a surge in funding.

However, it is heavily concentrated in advanced economies—a far cry from what is happening in emerging and developing countries and regions.

African challenges

Africa is facing new challenges and opportunities across a continent where 600 million people still lack access to electricity and nearly 1 billion lack access to clean cooking.

“While private sector investment in clean energy more than doubled from 2019 to 2024, public and development finance institution funding for energy projects in Africa has fallen by one-third over the past decade, largely due to a decrease in Chinese development spending,” the IEA reported.

“Private equity and venture capital now play a larger role in funding start-ups that focus on energy access, decentralised energy solutions and electric vehicles.”

Energy demand growth

Clean energy investment has grown by nearly 25% In Latin America over the past 10 years but the IEA believes the region will need to more than double grid investment to support electricity demand growth.

Rapidly growing Southeast Asia has also seen its energy demand jump by more than 35% since 2014, with clean energy now making up nearly half of investment.

The region is emerging as a key player in solar PV and critical mineral supply chains, with its mining sector set for rapid growth through its focus on nickel, cobalt and rare earths.

Critical minerals shortfall

The IEA continues to raise concerns about the potential impact of a shortfall in critical minerals on clean energy.

“Globally, critical minerals have never been more important and the IEA’s recent Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025 underscores the major energy and economic implications of secure supply chains for these vital resources,” the agency noted.

Even though today’s critical mineral markets may seem well catered to, the report found that a combination of increasing supply concentration in a handful of countries and the spread of export restrictions has raised the risk of disruptions.