RENEWABLES INVESTMENT COLLAPSE

摘要

New figures from research firm New Energy Finance show that investment in clean energy has collapsed to just US$13.3 billion in the first quarter of 2009, down by no less than 44% on the fourth quarter of last year and 53% below the level achieved in the first quarter of 2008.rnAccording to the company, it took until the first quarter of 2009 for the credit crunch and the recession to catch up fully with investment in renewable energy, low-carbon technologies and energy efficiency. And, despite the sector's medium-term and long-term growth prospects, it suffered from a severe shortage of bank finance for projects and the parlous state of overall stock market confidence.rnOver $150 billion of stimulus spending around the world has been earmarked for clean energy, but the figures show it has not started to flow fast enough to fill the current funding gap, New Energy Finance says.