While it was understandable that renewable energy investors would hit the pause button during the 2009 fiscal crisis, after years of growth and expansion, private funding for wind and solar is once again taking a dive. According to a report released this week by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, “investment worldwide in the first quarter of 2013 was $40.6bn, down 22% on a year earlier.”

And the news only gets worse. First quarter investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy smart technologies are all down; 38% less than the final quarter of last year in fact. 

The report highlights reduced funding on an international scale in 2013, including:

* A 54% year-on-year fall in US clean energy investment to $4.5bn
* A 15% setback in the Chinese total to $8.8bn
* A 25% drop for Europe to $13.4bn.
* Asset finance of utility-scale wind and solar projects down by 34% to $19bn

But it’s not all bad news. Most of Asia (outside of China) has experienced a surge in renewable energy investment, including a “47% jump to a record $10.1bn, led by a surge of investment in Japan to $8.2bn.” India also experienced record investment increases, some of which double from the previous year. Additionally, Bloomberg also details a brighter picture on the stock exchange, thanks, in part, to a 40% rally in the WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index (NEX) “which tracks the performance of 96 clean energy stock worldwide. “There’s also been a rebound in public market investment in clean energy companies, though not enough to overcome the shrinkage of venture capital and private equity investments, down 29% from 2012.

Nevertheless, dwindling investment resources for renewable energy and clean energy companies could impact our future ability to adapt (and combat) climate change.

“For investment in clean energy to play its role in stemming the growth in world emissions, we would need to see investment levels at least double by 2020, rather than fall,” Bloomberg New Energy Finance chief executive Michael Liebreich said in a statement.

Some additional information can be gleaned from “Green Falls Like Gold,” at Quartz.