Brasília – A minimum of US$ 515 billion a year should be invested in infrastructure for clean energy generation until 2030. Otherwise, carbon emissions are going to reach unsustainable levels and global temperature will rise by two degrees Celsius. The warning was issued in a report disclosed yesterday (29) by the World Economic Forum, which brings together 2,500 business and political leaders from several countries in the Swiss city of Davos.
Ethanol from sugarcane, which is manufactured by Brazil, appears among the eight items listed by the document as potential targets for investment. Other segments that may contribute for changing the planet’s energy matrix are solar, wind and geothermal energy, recycled solid waste and biofuel made from cellulose and biomass.
The report, entitled Green Investment: Towards a Clean Energy Infrastructure, also outlines a map of investment in the sector in recent years. The outlook is positive. Total investment in alternative energy sources went from US$ 30 billion in 2004 to more than US$ 140 billion in 2008.
Another interesting statement is that developing countries have started attracting greater investment. In 2004, US$ 1.8 billion in funds had been turned to clean energy programs in these countries, equivalent to 13% of the total invested globally. In 2007, this share rose to 23%, with investment of US$ 26 billion.
"The short-term challenge for the world’s policy-makers is to maintain the extraordinary momentum of the clean energy industry in these difficult times. To do so, they must use all the tools at their disposal," says the report.
The document still defends the inclusion of long-term targets, with a sustainable energy system, in packages to face the international financial crisis. "Developing renewable energy technologies, rolling out a fully digital grid, properly insulating homes and offices, and educating a new generation of engineers, technicians and scientists should all be part of any fiscal stimulus programme," recommends the report.
*Translated by Mark Ament and Gabriel Pomerancblum