China leading world in green investment

Pew Charitable trusts, in partnership with Bloomberg New Energy Finance, has released a report that ranks the world’s top investors in green technology, with some interesting conclusions.

Green energy has seen remarkable levels of investment in recent years brought on by fears from global warming and the necessity of establishing energy security. This has led to a sea change in thinking on renewable energy sources, with G20 countries investing in new technology so as to be ahead of the game. Developing nations have not missed a trick either, and China has surged ahead to be the country with the highest investment in green technology.

Investment in green technology has trebled since 2005 and last year reached US$ 162 billion. However, China led the way investing some US$ 34.6 billion; this was almost double the US$ 18.6 billion spent by the US. Even though China is four times the size of the USA, that figure is still astounding considering that five years ago, China only invested US$ 2.5 billion in renewable energy.

Increasingly, governments are looking to green energy as a means to renew manufacturing bases and create more jobs and export opportunities. China is investing massively in onshore wind turbine and solar panel manufacturing. The UK is hoping to utilise the skill base built up by work in the North Sea, and is developing carbon capture and storage technologies as well as industries such as tidal power and wave power.

The reason for this disparity in investment can be put down to a combination of factors. Countries with strong and clear national polices, mandated energy quotas, a carbon market, and loans for green energy projects were leaders in the industry. China fits the bill perfectly; it has a strong national industrial policy, and has set aggressive carbon reduction targets, it also produces 700 000 engineering graduates a year, giving it an intellectual boost. The USA on the other hand has a disparate attitude towards green energy in every one of 50 states, and is still arguing over carbon legislation.

However, whichever country is the leader in investment, the news is good for renewable energy, as energy derived from renewable sources now makes up for 6% of global needs, or 250 GW.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/30032010/china_leading_world_in_green_investment/