Renewable Energy is "Green Gold Rush" - UN Report

Michael Szabo, PlanetArk 2 Jul 08;

LONDON - In what is being called a "green gold rush," global investment in renewable energy surged some 60 percent to US$148 billion in 2007, a UN agency said on Tuesday.

Buoyed by soaring fossil-fuel prices and concerns over the carbon dioxide emissions that fuel global warming, investment in clean energy from sources like wind, solar and biofuels last year rose three times faster then predicted by the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP).

"Just as thousands were drawn to California and the Klondike in the late 1800s, the green energy gold rush is attracting legions of modern day prospectors in all parts of the globe," said Achim Steiner, head of UNEP.

"Clean energy in one of the strongest sectors in the world in terms of investment activity," said New Energy Finance CEO Michael Liebreich, one of the authors of the report.

Wind power attracted the most capital last year at US$50.2 billion, or a third of all clean energy investment, UNEP's Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2008 report said.

In March 2008, global installed wind capacity exceeded 100 gigawatts, or enough to power around 75 million homes.

Investment in solar energy soared by 254 percent to US$28.6 billion last year, while the biofuel sector foundered with funds falling nearly one third to US$2.1 billion, the report said.

Overall, clean energy accounted for 23 percent of all new installed capacity in 2007.

Public investment in renewable energy via the markets more than doubled to USU$23.4 billion, up from US$10.6 billion in 2006, the report said.

The S&P Custom/ABN AMRO Renewable Energy Index gained 70 percent in 2007, but has since fallen 14 percent on weakness in the global economy.

Most new money flowed into renewable energy leaders the European Union and the US, though China, India and Brazil attracted a sizable US$26 billion last year, up 14 times from US$1.8 billion in 2004.

The three developing countries now account for 22 percent of all new renewables investment, UNEP said.

Investment in Africa's clean energy sector grew fivefold to US1.3 billion in 2007, reversing a gradual decline that started in 2004.

"Sub-Saharan Africa, arguably the region that has the most to gain from renewable energy, remains largely unexploited," the report said.


A NEW DEAL

The renewable energy sector is expected to grow to US$450 billion in 2012, and up to US$600 billion by 2020, UNEP said.

"We have a significant economic signal here, that goes well beyond what, 10 years ago, energy thinktanks or international financial institutions thought would happen," Steiner said on a call.

Developing nations like China, which recently surpassed the US as the world's top emitter, are being encouraged by rich countries to embrace renewable energy and adopt binding emissions targets under a new international climate pact.

The Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period expires in 2012, and governments are now racing to negotiate a new agreement that they hope to have in place by the UN's climate talks next year.

"The (report's) findings should empower governments - both North and South - to reach a deep and meaningful new agreement by the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen in late 2009," Steiner said.

In the US, as public acceptance shifts to cleaner energy, the government is being called on to lead a "carbon revolution" by passing domestic climate legislation and agreeing to at least halve emissions by 2050 at next week's Group of Eight rich nations summit in Japan.

Both candidates in the US presidential election in November have said they support deep cuts and experts are confident either one will make progress on a US climate bill in the first six months of their presidency.

"A new administration in 2009 is expected to make renewable energy a priority while recent uncertainly (over possible emissions regulations) has put a number of coal-fired generation plants on hold," the report said.

On Monday, a Georgia state court invalidated a permit to build a 1,200-megawatt coal power plant, citing the developers' failure to limit emissions of carbon dioxide.

For additional analysis on the renewable energy market, go to http://www.reutersinteractive.com

(Reporting by Michael Szabo; Editing by James Jukwey)


UN agency hails green energy 'gold rush'
Bogonko Bosire Yahoo News 1 Jul 08;

The world is enjoying a "green energy gold rush", the UN's environmental agency said Tuesday as it published a report outlining a 60 percent hike in investment in renewable energy in 2007.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) study, published in Nairobi, said more than 148 billion dollars (93 billion euros) of new funds were ploughed into the quest for cleaner energy last year.

The massive demand for solar, wind and biofuel energy was being powered by prevailing climate change worries, growing support from world governments and rising crude oil prices, the UN agency said.

"Just as thousands were drawn to California and the Klondike in the late 1800s, the green energy gold rush is attracting legions of modern-day prospectors in all parts of the globe," UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said in a statement.

"What is unfolding is nothing less than a fundamental transformation of the world's energy infrastructure."

The UNEP report said wind energy had attracted the highest investment, raking in 50.2 billion dollars in 2007. As of March 2008 its production capacity was more than 100 gigabytes, it added.

Solar power grew most rapidly, attracting some 28.6 billion dollars in new capital and growing at an average annual rate of 254 percent since 2004.

Biofuel investment declined by one-third to 2.1 billion in 2007 with new investment shifting from the US to the growth economies of Brazil, India and China.

Much of the new cash flowed into Europe and the US, but China, India and Brazil were drawing increasing interest with investment in the three nations up from 12 percent in 2004 to 22 percent last year -- an increase from 1.8 billion dollars to 26 billion.

Effectively, China, India and Brazil accounted for nearly a quarter of the new investment in clean energy.

Sustainable energy accounted for 23 percent of new power capacity added globally in 2007, about 10 times that of nuclear, the report added.

"Investment in the sustainable energy sectors must continue to grow strongly if targets for greenhouse gas reductions and renewables and efficiency increases are to be met," according to the report.

"Investment between now and 2030 is expected to reach 450 billion dollars a year by 2012, rising to more than 600 billion dollars a year from 2020."

The report added that energy from biomass and geothermal power were being lined up as the next growth industries as the world strives to end its dependency on fossil fuels blamed for contributing to global warming.

Developing nations like China, which has already surpassed the US as the world's largest carbon polluter, are under pressure to take quick measures aimed at curbing its greenhouse gas emissions.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the world most populous nation on Tuesday to accept its global responsibilities on climate change.

"China is a global power with a global responsibility and global interests," he said in an address at Beijing's Foreign Affairs University.

"Major emitters from the developing world must also increase their contributions to reduce carbon emissions."

Steiner said transition to cleaner energy sources had become inevitable in the modern world.

"With world temperatures and fossil fuel prices climbing higher, it is increasingly obvious to the public and investors alike that the transition to a low-carbon society is both a global imperative and an inevitability.

"This is attracting an enormous inflow of capital, talent and technology. But it is only inevitable if creative market mechanisms and public policy continue to evolve to liberate rather than frustrate this clean energy dawn."

Although Africa continues to lag other regions in terms of sustainable energy investment, financing in the clean energy sector climbed to 1.3 billion dollars in 2007.

This was five times the level of the previous year and reversed a gradual decline since 2004, the report added.