China is again world leader in clean energy investments

Drew US$65 billion in clean energy investment last year, or 30% of all investments.

A report released by the Pew Charitable Trusts said China overtook the United States last year as the global leader in clean energy investment as American spending on RE plunged by 37%.

Pew said investment in US clean energy dropped despite an increase in spending on home solar and solar-power generation.

Pew said the center of gravity in the clean energy world has shifted from the United States and Europe to China. It said a lack of a national clean-energy policy caused the United States to fall behind in the clean energy race.

The USA led in global clean energy investments until 2009. It traded the top spot with China before reclaiming it during the surge in investment that came along with the stimulus legislation and a record boom in US wind-energy construction.

Pew noted that China’s leaders are focused on developing clean energy. China has aggressive RE targets and helped fund the rapid growth of its solar and wind industries.