2015 was an extraordinary year for renewable energy, with the creation of installations for an estimated 147 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power capacity and global investments for 286 billions dollars especially in developing countries, as stated in the report Renewables 2016 – Global Status Report published by REN21, a global network linked to the environmental program of the United Nations.

The report highlights how 2015 was a remarkable year for renewable energy and that these unprecedented results were driven by several factors, as better access to financing and the improving cost-competitiveness of renewable technologies, compared to fossil fuel sources, dedicated policy initiatives, energy security and environmental concerns, growing demand for energy in developing and emerging economies, and the need for access to modern energy. Therefore new markets for renewable energy are emerging all around the world. This growth, as highlighted in the study, occurred despite tumbling global prices for all fossil fuels, ongoing fossil fuel subsidies and other challenges facing renewables, that is bureaucratic barriers, policy and political instability and fiscal constraints.

In 2015, the countries that have recorded the highest increase of investments in renewables are United States (+19%) and China (+17% accounting for 36% of the global total). The largest drop in investments was observed in Europe (-21%). Major investments for renewable energy sources come mainly from China, USA, India and Japan.
This  marks a historic milestone: for the first time countries in the developing world have surpassed developed countries in investments in renewable technologies. The leadership of decarbonisation is passing to the south of the world: countries such as Morocco, Uruguay, Honduras, Nicaragua, South Africa and Jordan have spent around 1% of its GDP for renewables. These are good news not only for the climate, but also for the sustainable development of those countries.

In the last years Italy showed a severe decline in investments and initiatives for renewable energy: Italy is still fifth among the 10 top countries in the world for solar PV capacity but in the last year the power capacity added accounted only for 0,3%; it remains second for solar PV capacity per capita and fifth for overall solar PV capacity. Moreover, Italy ranked ninth among 10 top countries for wind power capacity and sixth for geothermal power capacity.

Finally, employment in the renewable energy sector (not including large-scale hydropower) increased in 2015 to an estimated 8.1 million jobs. Solar PV and biofuels provided the largest numbers of renewable energy jobs. Large-scale hydropower accounted for an additional 1.3 million jobs.
Considering all renewable energy technologies, the leading employers in 2015 were China, Brazil, the United States and India.

Download the full report.

Continue to read on the last issue (N.41) of International Climate Policy Magazine.