What happened in the investment community to cause this? – GWC Mag

According to BloombergNEF, after peaking at $13.7 billion in Q3 of 2021, global investments in climate technology have been on a bit of a decline. Don’t get me wrong, on a quarterly basis $6 to $10 billion is pouring into the space. However, every quarter since Q3 2021 has been either flat or slightly lower.  That is until last quarter, when total investments spiked from $6.5 billion in the previous quarter to $16.6 billion.

Investments in the first half of this year were down 40% from the same period last year. Economic conditions have played a role as green investing isn’t the only area experiencing a decline. In fact, climate and AI continue to outperform other sectors.  

And even though overall investments are down, the number of deals increased. Startups receiving funding for the first time also increased by 34% from 2022.

It appears investors have – at least for the time being – shifted their focus to smaller deals. This could be because uncertainty over inflation and interest rates are making bigger deals riskier.

With that said, part of the reason for the Q3 surge were billion-dollar investments in a lithium-ion battery and a battery recycling venture.

All-in-all, investment in clean energy remains robust. Many headwinds exist, but private-sector money isn’t one of them.