Public Financial Support for Renewable Power Generation and Integration in the G20 Countries

Government spending and other forms of actual support to renewable energy is a blind spot at the international level. To help address the knowledge gap, we developed an inventory of public financial support for renewable energy generation and integration by G20 governments, which dominate renewable deployment. G20 governments provided at least USD 168 billion in public financial support for renewable power in 2023, less than one third of G20 fossil fuel subsidies that year. Advanced G20 economies and China accounted for 95% of renewable power support. Where disaggregated data was available, support was directed mostly to solar and wind, but almost half of the support targeted multiple technologies or did not specify.

Assuming current investment and support patterns remain consistent to 2030, we estimate that public support may need to double to around USD 336 billion per year to achieve the pledge made at the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. This would still be lower than current G20 fossil fuel subsidies (USD 535 billion in 2023). Lower income countries are at risk of getting left behind in the clean energy transition and will need grants and concessional finance to catch up. The benefits of increasing support to renewable power extend beyond achieving climate goals: increased energy access and less air pollution, price volatility, and geopolitical risk relative to fossil fuels.