Image: UNDP
Diversifying their sources of energy, several countries around the world, are making huge investments in solar power technologies with 2017 seeing a record $ 160.8 billions, a jump of 18 percent than the previous year.
In all, the world installed a record 98 gigawatts of new solar capacity, far more than the net additions of the rest – other renewables, fossil fuel and nuclear, according to the latest Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2018 report.
2017 was the eighth in a row in which global investment in renewables exceeded $200 billion – and since 2004, the world has invested $2.9 trillion in these green energy sources, the report reveals.
Released by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and its partners, the report notes that a driving power behind last year’s surge in solar was China,.
Beijing’s unprecedented solar energy boom saw some 53 gigawatts added – more than half the global total – and $86.5 billion invested, up 58 percent.
The report shows a steady move away from fossil fuel-based power production to ‘green’ power sources.
“The extraordinary surge in solar investment shows how the global energy map is changing and, more importantly, what the economic benefits are of such a shift,” said UNEP chief Erik Solheim.
“Investments in renewables bring more people into the economy, they deliver more jobs, better quality jobs and better paid jobs. Clean energy also means less pollution, which means healthier, happier development,” he said
Overall, China was by far the world’s largest investing country in renewables, at a record $126.6 billion, up 31 percent on 2016. There were also sharp increases in investment in Australia, up 147 percent to $8.5 billion; Mexico, up 810 per cent to $6 billion; and Sweden, up 127 percent to $3.7 billion.
Meanwhile, countries in the Asia-Pacific region, which is projected to account for two-thirds of global energy use between now and 2040, have committed to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy by scaling up their share of renewables, as a United Nations forum in Bangkok wrapped up on Thursday.
