U.S. Clean Tech Exports Are Key to Long-Term U.S. Economic Growth

Strategic Insights -

The Trump administration's emphasis on fossil fuels has reversed the U.S. lead in decarbonization ambition, causing uncertainty among clean energy project developers, investors, and global observers. However, global investment in clean energy technologies will remain resilient due to economic, security, and environmental imperatives. The U.S. must reassert its leadership to avoid marginalizing itself from the future economic and geopolitical opportunities of global value chains.

Key Takeaways:

  • Global investment in clean energy technologies reached a record $2.1 trillion in 2024, with an 11 percent increase from the previous year and more than double investments in 2020.
  • The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates global investment in clean energy to rise to $3.3 trillion in 2025.
  • Clean tech investments vastly outpace fossil fuel investments, with two dollars spent on clean energy for every dollar invested in fossil fuels.
  • The world now invests almost twice as much in clean energy as in fossil fuels.
  • Almost 75 percent of global energy investment is financed by commercial sources, with 25 percent from public finance and 1 percent from development finance institutions (DFIs).
  • Clean technology manufacturing alone accounted for around 4 percent of global GDP growth in 2023.
  • Clean energy contributed 10 percent to China's GDP in 2024, driving a quarter of the year's GDP growth.

Statistics:

  • Global investment in clean energy technologies reached $2.1 trillion in 2024.
  • The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates global investment in clean energy to rise to $3.3 trillion in 2025.
  • Two dollars are spent on clean energy for every dollar invested in fossil fuels.
  • $10 is invested in clean power for every $1 invested in fossil fuel electricity generation.
  • 680 million people lack access to electricity, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Off-grid solar could provide first-time electricity access to almost 400 million people globally by 2030.
  • Clean energy technologies could create 1.5-3.3 million new jobs in Africa alone.

Sources:

  • Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
  • International Energy Agency (IEA)
  • Original text: https://www.csis.org/analysis/us-clean-tech-exports-are-key-long-term-us-economic-growth (Category: ThinkTank)