The World Economic Forum has warned that unless $515 billion is invested in clean energy each year between now and 2030, carbon emissions will cause global temperatures to rise by two degrees.
In its Green Investing: Towards a Clean Energy Infrastructure report, released at this year's Davos conference, the WEF and New Energy Finance named eight emerging, large-scale clean energy sectors that are expected to significantly contribute in the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy:
-Onshore wind
-Offshore wind
-Solar photovoltaic
-Solar thermal electricity generation
-Municipal solar waste-to-energy
-Sugar-based ethanol
-Cellulosic and next generation biofuels
-Geothermal power
The report’s authors, Max von Bismarck and Anuradha Gurung from the World Economic Forum, and Chris Greenwood and Michael Liebreich from New Energy Finance, argue that “enormous investment in energy infrastructure is required to address the twin threats of energy insecurity and climate change.
"In light of the global financial crisis, it is crucial that every dollar is made to ‘multi-task’ to create a sustainable low-carbon economy.”
Even after a financially troubled 2008, the report shows that clean energy opportunities have the potential to generate significant economic returns. An index of the world’s 90 leading clean energy companies had a five-year compounded annualized return of almost 10 per cent, unmatched by the world’s major stock indices.
Also at Davos, a group of climate change experts warned against complacency in the UN climate talks and urged business, governments, experts and civil society groups to come together to design “win-win” projects and collaborations – projects that are good for the economy in the short term and that help to tackle climate change in the longer term.
renewable energy
Davos
climate change
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