Developing nations attract USD 126bn in 2014 green investments

SeeNews Renewables — Renewable energy installations and investments were much higher in developing nations than in more developed countries in 2014, the latest Climatescope report showed Monday.

The Climatescope currently evaluates the performance of 55 emerging green energy markets in terms of clean energy investment and climate financing, enabling framework, low-carbon business and clean energy value chains and greenhouse gas management activities.

According to the report, the emerging markets across Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean attracted USD 126 billion (EUR 118.63bn) in 2014 renewable investments, or 39% more than in 2013. This represents more than half of all investments in the sector globally — a milestone for the industry, which so far used to be focused on wealthier countries.

Developing countries installed 50.4 GW of clean energy plants in the year to achieve a 21% growth rate. This way they managed to surpass the annual capacity additions in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations for the first time ever. “On a percentage basis, clean energy capacity is growing twice as quickly in Climatescope nations compared to OECD ones,” Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) noted in the report.

China was the best performing county in the ranking among other developing nations such as India, Pakistan, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and dozens of others. China put into operation 35 GW of renewable capacity last year, which is more than the combined additions of the US, the UK, and France.

The report and ranking have been prepared by BNEF and commissioned by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB), the UK Government Department for International Development (DFID) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

SeeNews Renewables
SeeNews Renewables goes beyond the familiar renewable markets of Western Europe and the US to encompass the potential of BRIC counties and emerging investment destinations in North Africa, the Asia Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe. SeeNews Renewables is covering all renewable energy sources: wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, geothermal and marine energy.