A new funding stream could fill the gap left by the major banks who are refusing to lend to community energy firms
The world needs to find $1tn (£590.3bn) a year of clean energy investment if we are to have any chance of avoiding runaway climate change. Last year, just $254bn of finance was found globally which is 12% less than 2012 and down a fifth on 2011’s record $318bn of investment. Europe in particular is seeing a fall-off in finance: in 2013, investment in clean energy slumped by 41% to $58bn.
The UK was one of the more positive areas of Europe last year, with investment falling just 8% from 2012’s record figure of $14.3bn. But then the UK is well behind most European countries when it comes to renewable energy. We derive just 4% of our energy from renewables, lagging behind Sweden (51%), Austria (32%), Denmark (26%), Italy (14%), France (13%) and Germany (12%). In fact, the only two nations we better are Luxembourg and Malta.