Chart: Global investment in renewables hits record even as US falters

October 3, 2025

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Clean energy journalism for a cooler tomorrow

Over the first six months of this year, a total of $386 billion flowed to renewable-energy projects — 10% more than one year prior.


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Globally, investors are pouring more money into renewable energy than ever — even as they pull back on spending in the U.S.

But the story is very different when you zoom in on the U.S.

To an extent, the U.S.’s loss may have been Europe’s gain, according to BNEF. The European Union saw investment jump by 27% in the first half of this year, due in large part to major offshore wind developers shifting their focus from beleaguered projects on America’s East Coast to those in Europe’s North Sea. In the UK., another offshore wind hot spot, investment tripled compared to the first half of last year, rising to $6.6 billion.

That increasing interest in erecting turbines in European waters helped buoy global investment figures. The offshore wind sector may be crumbling in the U.S. under Trump, but worldwide, it attracted more money in the first six months of this year than in all of last year.

Small-scale solar is also quickly gaining ground, especially in China, where investment in the energy source almost doubled even as funding for utility-scale solar fell by 28% due to policy changes that make those larger projects less lucrative.

Overall, the investment figures are trending in the right direction: up. But the growth remains sluggish compared to the blistering pace needed for the world to shift away from planet-warming fossil fuels.