16 July 2010: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) have released UNEP’s Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2010, and the REN21’s Renewables 2010 Global Status Report.

The UNEP report focuses on global trends in sustainable energy investment, covering the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors. The REN21 report provides a broad look at the status of renewable energy worldwide, covering power regeneration, heating and cooling and transport fuels. It describes the landscape of policies and targets introduced around the world to promote renewable energy.

According to the reports, in 2009 renewable sources represented 25% of global electricity capacity and 18% of global power production. The reports find that the US and Europe have added more capacity to their electricity supplies from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, for the second consecutive year. In 2009, renewables accounted for 60% of newly-installed capacity in Europe and more than 50% in the US. The reports also predict that the world should reach at least 50% newly-installed power capacity from renewable sources during in 2010 or 2011. The reports further show that countries with policies encouraging renewable energy have approximately doubled from 55, in 2005, to more than 100 today, with half of them in the developing world. [UNEP Press Release] [IEA Press Release] [Reports Website]