A new report by KPMG reveals that global investment in clean energy assets has reached a record high, surpassing $2 trillion in 2024—up from $1.2 trillion in 2020. The report, based on a survey of 1,400 senior energy transition investors across 36 countries and 11 industries, points to growing confidence in the sector, despite persistent macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds.
According to the survey, 72% of investors believe that investment in energy transition assets is rising. This optimism spans multiple sectors: 64% have invested in energy efficiency technologies (including electrification), followed by 56% in renewables, 54% in storage and grids, and 51% in transport infrastructure.
However, investors also cited key concerns that could dampen momentum—namely, regulatory and policy uncertainty, market volatility, and the performance risks associated with emerging technologies.
Partnerships are proving vital to navigate these risks. The report notes that 94% of investors now actively seek partners to help de-risk their investments and leverage complementary expertise.
“It’s encouraging to see that energy transition investment is shifting away from fossil fuels toward sustainable energy,” says Donatas Karčiauskas, CEO of Exergio, a company that specializes in AI-powered energy optimization. “But what worries me is the imbalance: only 15% of clean energy funding reaches emerging markets, even though they represent two-thirds of the world’s population. If we don’t close that gap, we risk missing both global climate targets – like net-zero emissions by 2050 – and critical development goals, such as expanding energy access and building more resilient infrastructure.”
Currently, energy transition investment is concentrated in East Asia (54%), North America (52%), and Europe (52%). However, investor interest is gradually extending to regions like the Middle East & North Africa and Southeast Asia, with 20% of respondents identifying these as emerging destinations for future investment.
Still, several barriers hinder progress in developing markets, including political instability, unclear regulations, and underdeveloped infrastructure. These conditions often deter long-term investment, even when the potential returns are strong.
In such contexts, smaller-scale digital solutions may hold the key. According to Karčiauskas, technologies like AI-driven predictive maintenance systems—which require less capital, carry lower risk, and deliver faster results—are especially well-suited for these environments.
“Where capital is directed matters, but the nature of the technology we’re backing is even more. Far too often, investments go toward large, multi-year infrastructure projects. Unfortunately, digital retrofits and AI-based energy tools, which can show measurable savings in a matter of months, get overlooked. These aren’t future concepts. They’re off-the-shelf solutions that are already working. We just need more investors to recognize their value,” continued Karčiauskas.
While the bulk of global clean energy capital continues to flow into large infrastructure projects—solar farms, wind parks, storage facilities, and electrified transport—Karčiauskas argues that smarter, faster wins are possible through digital transformation.
“Most buildings don’t need to be rebuilt, but re-tuned. Investors are spending billions on long-term infrastructure, while proven digital solutions like predictive maintenance, digital twins, and advanced BMS are still underused. A simple audit can expose where buildings are wasting energy, and optimization tools can fix it almost immediately. There’s no need to wait for perfect policy or perfect technology – the solutions already exist,” elaborated Karčiauskas.
Exergio highlighted case studies demonstrating real-world savings from AI-driven systems. At one shopping center, its solution reduced electricity consumption by 29% and heating demand by 36%, saving nearly $1.1 million. In a business complex, energy waste was cut by 44% across cooling and ventilation systems through real-time HVAC controls.
“Over the next five years, I believe energy efficiency will no longer be a secondary goal. It will become the main lever for achieving both climate and economic targets. We’ll see increasing pressure not just to build sustainably, but to make existing buildings operate more intelligently through digital tools. That shift will require a new mindset; one that prioritizes smart optimization over building more,” concluded Karčiauskas.