Renewable energy sector set to get $7.8 trillion investment by 2040: Report

With the investment, impact of cheap gas and coal will be offset by drops of 41% and 60%, respectively, the report said

The currently weak coal and gas prices will not stop record investment of nearly $7.8 trillion in the world renewable energy sector over the coming decades as the cost of generating clean energy drops, a report said on Tuesday.

With renewables set to attract $7.8 trillion by 2040, the impact of cheap gas and coal will be offset by drops of 41% and 60% respectively, the Bloomberg New Energy Outlook 2016 said.

Jon Moore, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said in a statement that though compared to a year ago, coal and gas prices are projected to go "significantly lower", the report "strikingly, still shows rapid transition towards clean power".

The shift to a low-carbon energy sector will not happen quickly enough to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius, the report said.

The Paris Agreement last December calls for capping the earth's average surface temperature at "well below" 2 degrees Celsius.

Additional investment of $5.3 trillion in zero-carbon power, over the projected $7.8 trillion would be needed by 2040 to achieve even the two-degree target, the report added.