A coalition of 35 nations that signed the Clean Energy Transition Partnership has helped push public investment in fossil fuel projects drastically downward, according to a new joint report by environmental groups and research institutes. In 2024, financing for international fossil fuel ventures declined by as much as seventy eight percent compared to levels seen during 2019 to 2021. That reduction amounts to between 11.3 and 16.3 billion dollars less funding.
The coalition, originally established at the 2021 UN climate talks, pledged to end public support for fossil fuel expansion by 2022 and to redirect money toward clean energy. While the drop in fossil fuel funding is steep, participating states including Germany, Switzerland, and the United States still approved around 10.9 billion dollars in new fossil fuel financing between 2023 and 2024. The report warns that geopolitical tensions and the U.S. decision to withdraw from certain commitments to boost domestic fossil fuel production threaten to unravel the coalition’s objectives.
Another major concern is that the decline in fossil fuel investment is not being matched by an equivalent rise in clean energy investment. The balance is skewed, meaning that though fossil fuels are receiving less public backing, clean energy is not yet receiving enough to maintain the momentum required for the energy transition. The authors of the report stress that policy alignment and stronger commitments are needed to ensure that reducing fossil fuel financing is paired with robust growth in renewables and related infrastructure.
The report underscores how challenging it is to shift large scale investments in energy systems. Financial flows do not instantaneously pivot. Energy infrastructure takes years to plan and build. Governments must coordinate incentives, regulations, and capital flows to secure sustained change. At the same time global tensions over resources, supply chains, and strategic minerals can complicate cooperation. The U.S. in particular faces a tension between domestic political priorities favoring fossil fuels and its international climate commitments.
Going forward the report urges renewed political leadership and clearer pathways to scale clean energy investments. Success would require that public actors and private investors see predictable regulatory regimes, supportive financing mechanisms, and consistent signals over the long term. Without that, cutting fossil fuel backing risks leaving a void rather than enabling a full shift to clean energy solutions.
The bottom line is that the Clean Energy Transition Partnership has made tangible progress in reducing support for fossil fuels. But unless clean energy investments accelerate much more strongly, the world may struggle to stay on track with climate goals. Strategic alignment, political will, and investment scale all remain essential to counterbalance the legacy infrastructure and financial inertia that favor fossil fuels.
