World Economic Forum analyzes green investment

Add sustainability to the list of matters discussed by political and business leaders at the World Economic Forum, which announced that $515 billion, as well as government action and regulation is needed annually for "green" investments to avoid a disastrous carbon emissions level.

The announcement came in the report "Green Investing: Towards a Clean Energy Infrastructure" report, which was released at the conference. Written by the Forum, Geneva, and London-based New Energy Finance, the report discusses the move to clean energy infrastructure, the potential return of various technologies and their implementation. But it cannot happen by business means alone, the report added.

The report identifies eight emerging, large-scale clean energy sectors that are expected to significantly contribute to creating a clean energy infrastructure of the future: onshore wind, offshore wind, solar photovoltaic, solar thermal electricity generation, municipal solar waste-to-energy, sugar-based ethanol, cellulosic and next generation biofuels, and geothermal power.

"Buildings can be even made energy positive, meaning they produce more energy than they consume by using integrate solar PV (roof, facade, window), chromic glass, heat-exchangers/pumps, smart devices, and smarter architectural building designs," the report says. "In the residential sector, nearly 80% of the investment would be directed at just one area--installing more efficient heating and cooling systems in existing and new homes," according to a Jan. 29 GlobeSt.com report.

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