China, South Korea Lead In Green Stimulus Investment

South Korea and China lead the world's 20 largest economies in the percentage of economic stimulus money they invest in environmental projects, the U.N. Environment Program reported on Thursday.

Other members of the Group of 20 leading economic powers, including the United States, trail behind in percentage of green investment from stimulus money, the agency found.

Almost exactly a year after the global financial crisis began, the U.N. agency found that about 15 percent of the estimated $3.1 trillion in global stimulus funds are "green" in nature.

But only 3 percent of stimulus funds committed to environmental projects were actually disbursed by the middle of this year, and the total in committed funds is still below 1 percent of global gross domestic product, the amount economists recommend to reduce dependence on carbon and fuel the transition to a greener world economy, the agency said.

The level of funding for renewable energy is not enough to cut carbon emissions and limit average global warming to 3.6 degrees F (2 degrees C), the increase above which some of the most severe effects of climate change are predicted.

The U.N. agency's executive director, Achim Steiner, called on the G20 leaders to have stimulus packages that double their green investments in sustainable energy to $500 billion a year to keep the global temperature rise below this threshold.

The report also noted that global stimulus commitments include some $250 billion in what the agency called "perverse subsidies" for fossil fuels and agriculture that can actually add to climate change are operating in the G20 economies.

In order of the percentage of stimulus money committed to environmental projects, South Korea was first with 79 percent; China had 34 percent; Australia 21 percent; France 18 percent; United Kingdom 17 percent; Germany 13 percent; United States 12 percent; South Africa 11 percent; Mexico 10 percent; Canada 8 percent; Spain 6 percent; Japan 6 percent; Italy 1 percent.

Source : REUTERS