More than $2.3tn of annual investment in the energy sector is needed to meet the “sustainable development” conditions that will help avoid catastrophic climate change, according to the International Energy Agency.

That annual commitment must rise again to an average of more than $3.2tn between 2025 and 2040, with much of it skewed towards renewable power sources and improved efficiency, to achieve the best-case scenario set out in the IEA’s latest Energy Outlook report, according to Financial Times.

Commenting on the report this month, Fatih Birol, IEA executive director, said: “Seventy per cent of global energy investments will be government-driven and, as such, the message is clear — the world’s energy destiny lies with government decisions.”

However, within this sphere of spending, much of the investment will be private money attracted by full or partial revenue guarantees from governments. Meanwhile, just over a quarter of total energy investment in the coming decades is still expected to come from private enterprises, responding to prices set in competitive markets.

Last year’s $1.8tn of global energy spending — both public and private — undershot the IEA’s yearly spending target to guarantee energy supplies and meet climate change ambitions.