LONDON: Investment and grants in climate tech startups have fallen just over 40% over the last 12 months, but that plunge is less precipitous than the broader venture capital industry globally, analysts at PwC said in a report released on Tuesday.

The report on the state of climate tech described investors as narrowing their focus to areas that need it most, such as heavy industries; climate tech has a “growing share of a muted market” hobbled by global economic and political conditions.

“The need for climate technology continues to rise, but equity investment in start-ups has declined for a second year amid tough conditions in private markets,” the report said. Total venture and private equity investment fell 50.2% to $638 billion in the 12 months to September from the same period a year earlier, PwC said. Investment in climate tech is about 10% of that total.