Australia’s large-scale renewable energy sector is once again facing the prospect of “falling off a cliff” unless effective long-term financing strategies are established. In 2015, a report by Bloomberg pointed to financial distress in the renewables industry as the main reason why investment in large-scale renewable energy industry fell by 90 percent in the 12 months leading to 31 March 2015 to just AUD$206.

Bill Gates has spoken out against the global push for divestment in fossil fuels, suggesting environmentalists have been making false claims as to the power of renewable energy investment alone.

Energy secretary Ed Davey has recently gone on the record to state that the world’s current actions to focus on renewable and other energy sources may put pension funds tied up in fossil fuel investment at great risk.

The Bank of England and an announcement from Germany’s largest power company could cost oil investors trillions of dollars. As governments adapt more stringent climate policies, there is a strong possibility that oil investors could lose out on trillions of dollars’ worth of coal, gas and oil deposits which could then become stranded government assets.

Chemical reactions on the surface of metal oxides, such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, are important for solar cells that convert the sun’s energy to electricity.