Globalization has become a key dynamic shaping renewable energy investment through technology transfer, capital mobility, and trade networks. This study examines the impact of economic globalization and its dimensions on renewable energy investments for the global economy, using global data from 1970 to 2022. The Johansen cointegration test confirmed the existence of long-run relationships in the study. Long-run coefficient estimates were made using the DOLS and FMOLS methods. The findings show that economic globalization generally has a positive impact on renewable energy investments. The long-run coefficient results show that a 1% increase in the economic globalization index increases renewable energy investments by approximately 0.06–0.07%. Analyzing the sub-components, the impact of trade globalization is significantly stronger. A 1% increase in the trade globalization index increases renewable energy investments by 0.10–0.12%. In contrast, financial globalization was estimated with negative coefficients. A 1% increase in the financial globalization index was found to reduce investments by approximately 0.05%. This result indicates that short-run capital movements, exchange rate fluctuations, and financial instability have a negative impact on long-run energy projects. Furthermore, economic growth was also found to support renewable energy investments. Overall, it emerged that the impact of globalization is not one-sided; while it offers opportunities for renewable energy investments, financial integration harbors vulnerabilities when appropriate policy frameworks are lacking.