BRITAIN is leading Europe in the race for green energy investment, according to research published today, which predicts that the global market for low carbon technology will be worth £2 trillion by 2030.
The study, commissioned by oil giant Shell, examined the role small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are playing in tackling climate change.
It found that last year UK companies attracted £1 billion of venture capital and private equity invest
ment for renewable energy projects and technologies. The figure is more than twice that of any other European country and 41 per cent of the EU total.
UK businesses focused on marine technology attracted almost £80 million of private equity investment, and solar £48m. However, private equity investment in wind energy was only £16m in the UK, trailing the rest of Europe at £169m.
The report's authors believe that "climate change entrepreneurship could be a bigger, more sustainable opportunity than the dot-com boom of the late Nineties".
They forecast that Britain's green technology market has the potential to grow by 30 per cent a year up to 2020.
Worldwide, the market opportunity could reach £2tn by the end of the following decade, making it comparable to those for major commodities such as wheat and steel today.
James Smith, chairman of Shell UK, said: "We have to tackle climate change and that creates a big opportunity for small business. This research shows the size of the prize and that British business ingenuity is already making an impact."
Robin Smale, director of independent consultancy Vivid Economics, which conducted the research alongside New Energy Finance, added: "We are now at a crucial stage of realising what the magnitude of the energy challenge is and just how much work needs to be done to bring down the cost of reducing emissions.
"UK SMEs are ideally placed to take on this challenge and it is extremely encouraging to see the extent of the contribution they are already making in the UK."
According to today's report, which places the UK second only to the US for investment in green SMEs, 2007 was a record year for investment in sustainable energy, attracting total global investment of £74bn, up from £50bn in 2006.
The research was conducted ahead of the closing date for entries to Shell's Springboard programme, which aims to give a financial boost to "innovative, low-carbon business ideas".
Last year, awards of £40,000 were made to eight businesses across the UK.
The full article contains 421 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
