China helped push global green energy investment plans to record heights in 2015, offsetting a sharp fall in Germany, authors of a U.N.-backed report said on Thursday, predicting further growth.
Solar and wind power, especially in developing countries, are driving spending higher and last year for the first time renewables made up more than 50 percent of new electricity capacity plans, the Frankfurt School of Finance report said.
“The term ‘niche product’ no longer applies to renewables,” said Ulf Moslener, professor for sustainable energy finance at the school and one of the report’s authors.
“Investments are becoming less expensive, due to falling equipment costs, which will also enable further growth, especially in light of the new momentum from the Paris climate summit goals,” he told reporters.
Firmly committed renewable investment plans totalled $286 billion last year, up 5 percent from $273 billion in 2014, according to the study, which is prepared annually by the Frankfurt School-United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Collaborating Centre and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
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This article is published in collaboration with Thomson Reuters Foundation trust.org.
