Report: China Clean Energy Investments Beat U.S., U.K, and France Combined

Tim McDonnell reports on new data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance showing that "the majority of global investment in clean energy projects was spent in developing countries" over the past year. The headline of the article states it more provocatively: "China Is Absolutely Destroying the US on Clean Energy." McDonnell adds: "In fact, clean energy investment in China alone outpaced that in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France combined, BNEF found."

This portrait of the worldwide clean energy market does not reconcile with a narrative that opposes environmental legislation, such as carbon emissions reduction standards, on the grounds that third world countries aren't investing in clean technology. The new report also includes data about the quickly growing clean energy investments of other developing countries. " Across 55 major non-OECD countries," writes McDonnell, "including India, Brazil, China, and Kenya, clean energy investment reached $126 billion in 2014, a record high and 39 percent higher than 2013 levels."