Global Cleantech Investment Falls 17% as China Hits the Brakes
Synopsis
Global cleantech investment fell 17% to $770 billion as China's solar manufacturing spending declined sharply during the first half of 2026.
Global cleantech investment dropped 17% to $770 billion in the first half of 2026, mainly due to the substantial decline in investment in China where government funding for clean energy projects was reallocated to market-based pricing.
The drop in the solar manufacturing sector was the most dramatic at 62% in the last six months. After years of generous policy support, China is adjusting its renewable energy market.
China’s Investment Share Falls
The change in China's spending pattern had an effect on global cleantech investment, but China remained the biggest market for investment in renewable energy.
In the first half of 2026, global investment in renewables rose to $327.5 billion, according to BloombergNEF. The investment from China was roughly 1/4 of that amount, although it made up more than half of the investments in 2022.
The United States was second, and investment in renewable energy rose by 54% compared with the previous year. Investment in solar energy in the US rose 41 percent and investment in wind energy more than doubled to $13.8 billion.
BloombergNEF reported that Vietnam saw a four-fold rise in renewable investment and that investment in Southeast Asia was more than $12 billion.
Solar Manufacturing Leads the Decline
The 62% drop in solar manufacturing is one key contributor to the first-half drop in global cleantech investment, along with spending in clean-energy projects.
Overall, renewables industry continued to be robust. First-half renewable investment was broadly flat from last half-year, but was 21% lower than its 2024 high, BloombergNEF said.
For a broader manufacturing context, the IEA's Energy Technology Perspectives 2026 report is available. China continues to be the biggest exporter of clean energy technologies, accounting for $165 billion of gross exports in 2025, which amounts to roughly half of the total global exports outside the European Union, it said.
Meanwhile, the value of clean-energy technologies in the global market as a whole totalled nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025, with the mean of annual growth over the past decade at 20%, according to the IEA.
The disposal of cleantech investments in the second half will be globally much different than the first, but, according to project pipelines, investment in the second half looks like it's stabilizing after the first half drop.
Source: Reuters
Pooja Malik is a business journalist with over six years of experience covering startups, entrepreneurship, and emerging trends. She has previously worked with leading media platforms such as YourStory Media and BW BusinessWorld, where she reported on business, policy, and market developments. Currently, she serves as Editor at The Inspirepreneur Magazine, where she writes and edits stories across business, lifestyle, and travel, with a focus on clarity, accuracy, and reader relevance.
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