Renewable energy investments led by India, China in 2015: UN

With a focus on bolstering their energy security, India and China led developing countries in investments made in renewable energy in 2015. According to a UN report, for the first time commitments in solar, wind and other renewables capacity by emerging economies surpassed those by developed countries.

The report titled ‘Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016’ by the UN Environment Programme said that the developing countries including China, India and Brazil committed $156 billion in new renewables capacity in 2015. This was a significant increase of 19 per cent from 2014. The report also brought out another interesting fact that showed investments by developed countries had decreased by eight per cent in 2015 to $130 billion. “The year 2015 was the first time when investment in renewables in developing countries outweighed that in developed economies,” the report said.

China led the record-breaking investment among developing countries. According to the report China had lifted its investment by 17 per cent to $102.9 billion, which was more than a third of global commitments. India, on the other hand was among the top 10 investing countries in renewable energy. India increased its investments by 22 per cent to $10.2 billion.

Japan, US, UK Brazil, South Africa, Mexico and Chile were among the top 10 investing countries in 2015, according to the report. “The investment (in India) took place against a backdrop of pro-renewable policies introduced by India’s BJP government. These include a target to almost-triple wind capacity to 60 GW by 2022,” the report said.

The leading developing countries China, India and Brazil saw investment increase by 16 per cent to $120.2 billion, while other developing countries enjoyed a 30 per cent hike to $36.1 billion. On the other hand, the developed countries showed a gloomy scenario with investment in Europe down 21 per cent, from $62 billion in 2014 to $48.8 billion in 2015. This was Europe’s lowest figure for nine years, despite record investments in offshore wind projects.

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