Earth Equity News

U.N. Reports Big Jump in 'Green Energy' Investment. By John Heilperin, AP, July 2, 2008. "Global investors plowed $148 billion into new wind, solar and other alternative energy assets last year, in what the United Nations describes as a 'green energy gold rush' gaining speed the last several years. The spike in investment - 60 percent above the $92.6 billion spent on such projects in 2006 - reflects sharply rising concerns over climate change and energy prices, U.N. officials said in a report [PDF, summary, 6 pp] Tuesday. In 2005, alternative energy drew $58.5 billion in new money... U.N. Undersecretary-General Achim Steiner, who heads the U.N. Environment Program, said the agency's report on global trends in sustainable energy investment indicates a 'green energy gold rush is attracting legions of modern-day prospectors in all parts of the globe'... Wind energy led last year, drawing $50 billion in new investments, a more than 40 percent rise from 2006, according to the report. Solar power was the fastest-growing sector, rising almost 90 percent to $28 billion... Most of the new money flowed into Europe, followed by the U.S., the report said. But it noted there is growing interest in green technologies in China, India and Brazil, emerging economies that have become major emitters of greenhouse gases."