Global investment in energy supply was $1.6tn in 2017, fractionally down on 2016. In addition, some $300bn was spent on improving energy efficiency.
The fall, illustrated by the International Energy Agency’s latest review of investment trends, published last week, was largely accounted for by cost cuts in areas such as solar — where panels continued to get cheaper — and the development of shale oil and gas. Because of that, the decline in investment in each of the past three years has been predictable and is to be welcomed.
Rather than signalling a shortage of investment, the key message is that in aggregate the cost of energy production is falling gradually year by year.