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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsSome large investors and companies are still assessing climate risk and directing capital toward climate solutions, even as parts of the policy landscape loosen. But continued activity is not the same as an accelerating boom: global clean investment fell year over year in the first half of 2026, according to Rhodium Group.
What does “firms bet on climate tech” mean?
The clearest evidence of continued investor activity comes from Ceres’s 2026 assessment of public disclosures and communications from 50 of the largest North American-based investors. The report examines their 2025 practices; it does not measure how much capital was ultimately deployed in projects.
| Reported investor practice | Share of Ceres’s 50-investor sample |
|---|---|
| Assessed climate risks to portfolios | 74% |
| Allocated capital toward climate solutions | 74% |
| Engaged portfolio companies on climate-related issues | 72% |
| Engaged governments on climate policy | 44% |
These are reported practices, not a tally of completed investments or a forecast that every investor will keep allocating at the same pace. The sample is large North American investors, so it should not be read as a census of all firms or funds. Ceres’s 2026 assessment was published September 15, 2026.
Is clean investment still growing?
Not on every recent measure. Rhodium Group estimates nearly $2 trillion in global clean investment in 2025—three times the 2018 amount. Its Clean Investment Monitor covers clean power, transportation, manufacturing, and low-carbon industry.
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However, the same monitor found global clean investment in the first half of 2026 was 17% below the first half of 2025 and roughly level with the first half of 2024. The annual figure and the half-year comparison describe different periods: a strong longer-term rise can coexist with a recent pullback. The dataset also covers specified clean sectors, not every form of climate finance. Rhodium Group’s update, published September 10, 2026, runs through Q2 2026.
Which rules are loosening, and where?
United States: a proposed change to climate disclosure rules
On May 29, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced a proposal to rescind its 2024 climate-related disclosure rules. The announcement describes a proposal; it does not, by itself, establish that the rules have been rescinded. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins said the agency’s disclosure obligations should be guided by materiality and that expected benefits should justify likely costs and burdens. That is Atkins’s explanation of the proposal, not an independent legal finding. Read the SEC announcement.
Energy standards: a broader international picture
The SEC proposal is one U.S. disclosure-rule action, not a proxy for energy regulation worldwide. The International Energy Agency’s 2026 review says rollbacks dominated changes to energy standards in 2025. It reports that some rollback affected rules covering 30% of energy consumption under regulation, while new, stricter rules affected 17%. Those percentages refer to regulated energy consumption affected by policy changes, not shares of all global energy use or investment. The IEA’s executive summary covers changes across countries and sectors.
Climate-finance policies: a different policy measure
Separately, the OECD reports that climate-related financial-sector policies grew by more than 25% from 2023 to 2025. This tracks a different policy universe from the IEA’s energy-standard measure, so the figures are not competing estimates of the same rules. A change in energy standards, a financial-sector policy, and a corporate disclosure requirement can affect firms and investors in different ways. The OECD review was published June 9, 2026.
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What are companies and finance professionals saying?
A 2026 ACORE survey of 36 leaders at U.S. and multinational companies investing in the U.S. clean-energy market found that respondents broadly expected to increase their 2026 investment. They also cited policy, regulatory, and interconnection uncertainty as major risks. These are company leaders’ expectations, not a reported total of investment already made. See ACORE’s survey summary.
In the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority’s Transition Finance Pilot engaged more than 45 market participants to examine barriers to financing climate solutions. That is a participation count, not an investment-volume estimate or proof that those barriers have been removed. The FCA published its findings May 21, 2026, and updated them June 5. Read the FCA findings.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should personal-finance readers interpret the trend?
These reports answer different questions. Before comparing a headline number with another, check what it actually measures:
- Geography: Ceres examines large North American investors; Rhodium’s clean-investment figures are global; ACORE focuses on companies investing in the U.S. clean-energy market; the FCA pilot is UK-based.
- Activity versus money: investor disclosures and survey expectations describe practices or intentions, while Rhodium tracks investment in specified clean sectors. A reported allocation is not necessarily a completed or realized project investment.
- Policy type: corporate disclosure rules, energy standards, and financial-sector climate policies are distinct. A change in one does not establish the direction of the others.
- Period and sector: compare the same time window and technology coverage where possible. Rhodium’s annual 2025 estimate and its H1 2026 year-over-year change, for example, should not be treated as the same comparison.
For a household investor, the aggregate trend alone cannot show whether a particular climate-tech company, fund, or security is financially sound. The figures here do not identify individual deals or establish company-level returns; evaluating a specific investment requires evidence about that issuer or fund, rather than an inference from broad investor activity.
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