While browsing the people I follow on Twitter I found an interesting study from the Pew Charitable Trust noting that global clean power investments could reach $2.3 trillion by 2020. Yes, that’s 1,750 billion euros !
” the report extrapolated from 2009 clean energy investments to conclude that such financing could reach US$2.3 trillion globally if the countries in question developed policies to strongly promote solar, wind, and hydro energy. “
This paper focuses on the G20 members, which account for 85 percent of the world GDP and two thirds of the global population.
Here is the summary of the report, as one can read at PEW :
Over the last half decade, the clean energy economy has emerged around the world as a major new opportunity for investment, manufacturing, jobs and environmental protection. This report, Global Clean Power: A $2.3 Trillion Opportunity, explores scenarios for the dynamic expansion of electricity generated by renewable resources over the next decade.
The future trajectory of investments in clean power projects will be determined by the strength of policies adopted by G-20 countries.
If clean energy policies are strengthened significantly in the coming years, the report projects that $2.3 trillion will be invested in clean power assets over the next 10 years, offering companies and countries enormous opportunities to compete for investments, jobs and export markets.
Under current policies, however, cumulative investments would only reach $1.7 trillion over the next decade.
In other words, strong policies would leverage an additional $546 billion worth of worldwide investment.
Here is the conclusion of the article that brought my attention to this paper :
Synthesizing the 80-page report, it becomes evident that the clean energy sector is the wave of the future in economic terms.
As Phyllis Cuttino, director of Pew’s Climate and Energy Program, notes, nations that want to stimulate investment in clean tech, add jobs, revitalize manufacturing, and stimulate trade should first bolster their clean energy policies.