INDIA AND FRANCE MOVE UP RANKS OF RENEWABLES INDEX BEHIND LEADERS US AND CHINA
The Climate Group, March 9, 2015. Photo courtesy of Amanda Gassé.
LONDON: A new report released by Ernst & Young, the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI), brings India and France up to 5th and 7th positions behind leaders China and US, underscoring the importance of collaboration between the public and private sector in driving low carbon growth.
The RECAI index is a quarterly publication which ranks 40 countries all over the world based on international market trends, national policies and investment in the renewable industry. China tops the index, followed by US, Germany, Japan, India, Canada, France and the UK.
While the drop in oil prices has helped prove the stability of the renewable sector and cost-competitiveness of both the solar and wind industries, the RECAI authors stress this oversimplifies the already fast-growing low carbon energy transition.
Mark Kenber, CEO, The Climate Group comments: “Today the global low carbon economy is worth an impressive US$5 trillion. And it grew on average 11.8% per year in 2007-2010, compared to only 2.4% for the global economy as a whole. Clean technology is commercially viable and ready for scale-up.
“Inevitably, economies that moved early are now leading the way. China is the world’s biggest investor in clean energy, spending a record US$89.5 billion last year to account for almost 29% of the world’s total renewables investment.”