Financial Crisis had A Double-sized Impact on the Investment in Global Sustainable Resources

On June 3 2009, Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment released by UNEP and its partners indicated that the financial crisis caused a slowdown in the growth of global investment in sustainable resources in 2008. But, developing countries, such as China and Brazil, have emerged to set the trends in investment.

The report states that the corporate financing and project investment of global clean energies in 2008 reached USD 155 billion, a slight rise of 5% compared to USD 148 billion in 2007. A noticeable gap is seen when compared to the 50% growth rate of past three years. In 2008, the total investment in sustainable resources by developed countries amounted to USD 82.3 billon, a drop of 1.7% compared to 2007; in contrast, the total investment by developing countries reached USD 36.6 billion, an increase of 27% compared to the previous year, accounting for one third of global investment in this domain.

From a regional perspective, the amount of investment by Europe in 2008 was USD 59.7 billion, up 2%; that by North America was USD 30.1 billon, a drop of 8%. In these regions, the lack of project financing and the limited stimulus brought about by tax reductions during the recession resulted in the slowing down of investment in renewable resource programs. On the other hand, in China, owing to timely policy intervention, the investment in sustainable resources increased by 18% to reach USD 15.6 billion. In South America, the investment amount in projects by Brazil increased by 76% to reach USD 10.8 billion. This is largely attributable to the increase in demand for biofuels from both domestic and foreign markets, which has promoted investment in sugarcane-based ethanol projects. The total amount invested by Africa was USD 1 billion, representing an increase of 10% over the previous year.

In regard to resource types, the investment in sustainable resources in 2008 was mainly centered on wind energy. Surpassing biofuels, investment in solar energy assumed second place. Total investment in wind energy reached USD 51.8 billion, a drop of 1% compared to that in 2007; total investment in solar energy was USD 33.5 billion, an increase of 49% compared to 2009. Investment in biofuels reached USD 16.9 billion, a drop of 9% compared to in the previous year. (Source: www. chinapower.com.cn).