The global transition toward a low-carbon economy is fundamentally constrained by a macro-financial divergence in the cost of capital between Advanced Economies (AEs) and Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs). While the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for renewable technologies, primarily solar photovoltaics (PV) and onshore wind, has achieved grid parity or under-cut fossil fuels on a raw technological capex basis worldwide, the spatial allocation of global clean energy investment remains acutely skewed toward AEs and China. This paper investigates how structural disparities in the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), which ranges from 3.5%–6.5% in AEs to 8.5%–18.0% in EMDEs, dictate the spatial distribution of green energy asset ownership and drive international income inequality. Leveraging comprehensive secondary empirical data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), World Bank, and Bloomberg NEF (BNEF), this study employs econometric modeling, WACC sensitivity analysis, and macro-financial simulation to demonstrate three primary findings:

First, the capital-intensive front-loaded nature of renewable energy generation creates an extreme vulnerability to interest rate differentials, wherein an 800 basis point WACC gap elevates the LCOE in EMDEs by 80% to 110% above AE levels for identical physical infrastructure.

Second, high domestic borrowing costs in EMDEs force a reliance on foreign direct investment (FDI) and offshore private equity, driving an asymmetric asset ownership structure wherein high-value equity returns (12%–18%) and technology rents are concentrated in AE financial centers, while EMDEs bear localized debt service burdens.

Third, this ownership asymmetry creates a severe long-term balance-of-payments drain for EMDEs through outward profit repatriation and dividend remittances, aggravating sovereign credit risks, weakening local currency values, and perpetuating international income divergence.

The paper concludes that market-driven climate finance mechanisms exacerbate global inequality and outlines policy reforms, including blended de-risking instruments, local currency hedging facilities, and sovereign debt restructuring tied to green capital formation.