IEA warns of investment chasm

Energy funding poised to plunge as renewables fare better than fossil fuels

Global investment in the energy sector will contract sharply in 2020, with governments prioritising control of the Covid-19 pandemic and many economies able to reopen only partially. In its World Energy Investment 2020 report, the IEA estimates that global investment could decline by 20pc—the largest slump ever recorded. The oil sector will be the most severely impacted, with the agency warning investment will fall by a third this year. Consumer spending will decline by an enormous $1tn. Oil companies have shelved or delayed spending in 2020 to combat the financial impact of Covid-19 and sunken oil prices. Oil demand fell by 25mn bl/d year-on-year in April, when global lockdowns were at thei