Clean energy and clean technologies

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Clean Energy and Clean Tech-not starting from ground zero Edit

UNEP's Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative renewable energy investments rose to $160 billion in 2007, up from $100 billion in 2006.

Norway announced this month that it intends to double its national research fund for renewables to $3.4 billion.

This year the UK announced a $100 billion investment to build 4,000 onshore and 3,000 offshore wind turbines by 2020-while creating some 160,000 jobs.

Some 50 countries including a dozen developing countries, have set renewable energy targets including Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, China, India, the Philippines, Iran, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.

Kleiner Perkins, the venture capital firm that supported the establishment of Google, Netscape and Amazon.com, recently directed $100 million to new companies working on lowering CO₂ emissions.

Clean Tech investment in China will total an estimated $580 in 2007 million and is likely to total more than $720 million in 2008

Random facts Edit

Globally some 300,000 people are employed in wind power and maybe 170,000 in solar. Over 600,000 are employed in solar thermal-most of these in China.

Nearly 1.2 million are employed in biomass energy in four countries-Brazil, USA, Germany and China.

Overall 2.3 million are employed in renewable energy sector-a conservative figure.

A shift towards renewable energy and clean technologies is already underway. Edit

Feed-in tariffs were introduced a few years ago in Germany.

The German renewable sector, for example, now already generates $240 billion in annual revenue, employs 250,000 people, and is expected to provide more jobs than the country's auto industry by 2020.

Related topics Edit

• Green Economy Initiative
• Economic mismatch
• Clean energy and clean technologies including recycling
• Rural energy, including renewables and sustainable biomass
• Sustainable agriculture, including organic agriculture, Perennial crops
• Ecosystem infrastructure
• Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)
• Sustainable cities including planning, transportation and green building

References

• United Nations Environment Programme, October 22 2008