Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2013

Publication Date: June 2013

Annual report produced jointly by UNEP and Bloomberg's New Energy Renewable Energy that reviews the previous year's trends in renewable energy investment. 

For only the second time since 2006, global investments in renewable energy in 2012 failed to top the year before, falling 12% mainly due to dramatically lower solar prices and weakened US and EU markets. 

There was a continuing upward trend in developing countries in 2012, with investments in the South topping $112 billion vs $132 billion in developed countries - a dramatic change from 2007, when developed economies invested 2.5 times more in renewables (excluding large hydro) than developing countries, a gap that has closed to just 18%. 

The main issue holding back investment last year was instability in the policy regime for renewable energy in important developed-economy markets. Future investment is likely to coalesce in countries that can offer policies that command investor confidence, plus the need for extra generating capacity and strong renewable power resources.