Member countries of the Group of 20 could attract as much as $2.3 trillion in clean energy investments by 2020, with Asia becoming the top regional destination for investments, according to a report by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The report adds that over the same time span, total renewable energy capacity among G-20 countries will reach 1,180 gigawatts – almost four times the amount of renewable energy capacity today.
The report projects that by the end of the next decade, China, India, Japan and South Korea will account for approximately 40 percent of global clean energy investments, citing their massive energy demand and strong clean energy policies.
It is expected that 90 percent of future energy demand growth will come from developing countries over the next 20 years, of which 53 percent will come from China and India alone.
“Strong and consistent policies in Asia have helped double private investment over the past two years,” said Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
“Asia is now the leading region for clean energy investment, and its lead is set to extend in the near future unless Europe and the U.S. make a step change in their support for the sector,” he continued.
The report models three policy scenarios to determine future growth through 2020: business-as-usual, where there is no change from current policies; Copenhagen, where policies are made to implement 2009 pledges in Copenhagen; and enhanced clean energy; where policies are maximized to stimulate increased investment and capacity additions.
China ranks first in all three scenarios, possibly attracting clean energy investments of $620 billion over the next decade. Meanwhile, India could realize a 763 percent increase in investments under the enhanced clean energy scenario, the largest of all G-20 members, the report says.
Investment in the European Union could total $705 billion by 2020 under the same scenario due to its early and aggressive adoption to strong clean energy policies and targets. United Kingdom and Germany rank in the top give globally under all three scenarios.
Meanwhile, the United States is among the countries with the most to gain from passing strong clean energy policies, the report finds. The country could attract $342 billion in investments over the next 10 years under the enhanced clean energy scenario, a 40 percent increase in investments with the business-as-usual case.
