Posted on 11 December
2009 - Copenhagen, Denmark – Clean energy
technology is on track to become the third
largest industrial
sector globally with a rapidly increasing
share taken up by China, predicted a WWF
report released at the UN climate summit
in Copenhagen today.
Clean Economy, Living
Planet - Building Strong Clean Energy Technology
Industries is a first ever worldwide country
ranking by clean energy sales, finding that
relative to GDP it is wind energy and insulation
pioneer Denmark and bio-ethanol giant Brazil
that are leading the way. Germany, trading
on a substantial manufacturing base and
public support for wind and solar energy,
is in third place.
The report predicted
that by 2020 the industry would be worth
€1600 billion a year in 2020, ranking behind
automobiles and electronics as the third
largest industrial sector. In 2007, clean
energy technology had a sales volume of
€630 billion and was already larger than
the global pharmaceutical industry.
Sale revenues from energy
efficiency products in 2007 were more than
five times the revenues from renewable energy
products, but this will change significantly
by 2020 with the growth rate for renewables
at 15 per cent a year being three times
the still respectable five per cent annually
of efficiency product and process revenues.
“This is the clean economy
growth happening now with only a partial
Kyoto protocol international framework supporting
clean energy development, patchy national
support for green energy and huge subsidies
to fossil fuel use,” said Kim Carstensen,
leader of WWF’s global climate initiative.
“Imagine what is possible
with a successful Copenhagen climate deal
and the national mechanisms to deliver its
outcomes – clean energy is where the money
is going to be and this is where energy
security is going to be.”
The report advocates
countries seeking to develop their clean
energy technology sectors should “follow
the leaders” with technology action plans
to take technologies from research to demonstration
and bridge the gap between research institutions
and industry.
Central banks could
help by encouraging the inclusion of “carbon
risk” into financial modelling. Access to
seed or venture capital has also been a
factor in the success of clean energy in
the leading countries
The report also emphasises
the importance of developing a strong domestic
market in technologies with a strong domestic
fit.
“It allows companies
to experiment, gain experience and quickly
traverse the learning curve – both giving
them a competitive lead and providing them
with reference and showcase projects,” the
report said. Governments can support such
domestic markets with subsidies, renewables
targets and procurement policies.
Countries which could
benefit from such moves include the US,
ranked 18 on the GDP weighted rankings and
behind Germany even in absolute terms, and
the UK, ranked 19. Illustrating opportunities
lost, Australia - which squandered an early
technical lead in solar energy – is ranked
28.
China is ranked fourth
in terms of absolute sales, and sixth relative
to its GDP.
“Clearly, from a national
perspective there is much to gain and nothing
to lose from investing in clean energy,”
said Donald Pols, Head of the Climate Programme
at WWF-Netherlands.
“Forgoing these opportunities
for the sake of propping up an aging, polluting
fossil fuel sector for as long as its lobbying
power remains significant is acting for
vested interests not the national interest.”
