The Buzz | Europe losing reputation as a renewable energy leader

Europe is losing its status as a global leader in clean energy, with investment in the region plummeting 21 percent last year, while spending in the rest of the world boomed. A record USD328.9 billion was invested worldwide in solar, wind and other renewable energy sources in 2015, according to a report released last week by REN 21, an international coalition of governments, renewable energy trade associations and financial institutions including the World Bank Group. Spending in Europe was $48.8 billion, down from $62 billion a year earlier.
Excluding China, which is the world’s biggest clean energy investor, Asia poured more into renewables than Europe for the first time in 2015, according to the report, which uses data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.