Investment in the energy transition surged last year despite geopolitical and economic headwinds, a new report finds. Last year's Inflation Reduction Act drove much of the U.S.'s record $141 billion in energy transition financing, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy said in their report released Wednesday. But there were a lot of other bright spots, too: U.S. electric vehicle sales grew 50 percent, to 7.1 percent of new cars sold, even with rising battery costs and semiconductor shortages. And corporate-driven renewable energy purchases reached nearly 20 gigawatts, up from 17.1 GW in 2021. Countries worldwide invested more than $1 trillion last year in technologies accelerating the decarbonization of the global economy, up from $755 billion in 2021.China led the way, with $546 billion deployed, more than half of total global investments. The U.S. came in second with its $141 billion. That amounts to a year-on-year growth of 11 percent, largely reflecting the growth in electric vehicles sales during the year. Within the U.S., 41 percent of investment fell in the electrified transport sector, which includes EV sales and charging infrastructure. About 35 percent of investment came within renewables – a drop from 2021. The U.S. continued to dominate in venture capital and private equity investments in clean technologies. Those types of investments soared past $25 billion, while China, at No. 2 in that category, attracted $6.9 billion in 2022.
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