It is no secret that the fight against climate change will take a good bit of investment. One commonly cited statistic points to a sum of $1 trillion by 2030 if we are to avoid the worst consequences.

The necessity to move from fossil fuel dependency towards low-carbon alternatives is a clear part of this equation, acknowledged even in the UN’s last report on climate change. Global investments in this area though have been characterised by decreases over the last several years, broken only by a 17% jump in investments seen from 2013 to 2014 (see chart below, taken from the Renewables 2015 Global Status Report). It remains to be seen if this positive turning point will become a trend, but either way, the Renewables 2015 Global Status Report shows that this upturn was due mostly to increased solar power installations in China, Japan and developing countries. Meanwhile, the increase in renewables investment in Europe, coming in at a meagre 1%, looks much less encouraging.

We are clearly in a critical situation. Investment in renewables and energy efficiency must be stimulated if we want to prevent the worst consequences of climate change. Crowdfunding, as a way of allowing citizens to easily direct their savings into sustainable energy projects, may play an increasingly important role. As highlighted in October 2015 during the ECN Crowdfunding Convention’s round table on crowdfunding for renewable energies and impact investing, it is critical that the full potential of crowdfunding be unleashed in the field of renewable energies by upscaling it to a truly pan-European dimension.

Citizenergy and CrowdFundRES, two projects financed by the European Commission, are working in this direction. Although the road ahead is challenging, the goal of mitigating the consequences of climate change with the help of crowdinvesting in sustainable energies remains within reach.

On 24 May, the European Crowdfunding Network will organise its annual CrowdCamp event, which will specifically focus on crowdfunding for renewable energies. Two workshops will target crowdfunding platforms and renewable energy project developers. In parallel, a wider Stakeholder Forum for citizen investment in sustainable energy will aim at elaborating positions that will raise awareness among European policymakers for the power that crowdinvesting in sustainable energies holds.

By Adrienne Lotos, European Crowdfunding Network www.eurocrowd.org

Sources: Renewable Energy Policy Network for 21st Century. Renewables 2014: Global Status Report.