First, the good news. Global investment in energy efficiency is on the rebound.
The Covid pandemic subdued economic activity and cut capital spending on environmental projects in the past two years. But recovery programmes across major economies are now boosting expenditure on measures designed to deliver energy savings.
The latest detailed report on the topic, published by the International Energy Agency last month, suggests that public and private investment in energy efficiency is expected to increase by 10 per cent globally, to just above $290bn — a record level — with much of it concentrated on the transport and buildings sector (see below).