Understanding climate change requires wrapping your head around some crazy financial figures. To transition the global economy away from fossil fuels, governments, financiers, and businesses must invest some $4 trillion into clean energy every year beginning in 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. That sounds like a lot, but it’s dwarfed by the cost of doing nothing. Insurance giant Swiss Re warned last year that climate change could cut off nearly 15% of global economic output by 2050. In 2022, these numbers came to the fore as leaders grappled with the urgent need to find the green to go green.
Perhaps no single climate investment this year will go further than the $369 billion the U.S. is spending to catalyze renewables and cut emissions via the Inflation Reduction Act. After holding up the legislation for the first 18 months of Joe Biden’s presidency, West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin struck a deal in July to bring the law’s most significant provisions to life. Analysts say it will help dramatically cut U.S. emissions and incentivize trillions more in private investment.
