TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Global investments in renewable energy slumped 14 percent last year, with China pouring more money into the sector than Europe for the first time on record, said the UN Monday as cited in Antara News.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recorded that investments in renewable energies apart from hydroelectricity dropped to $214.4 billion in 2013, down by $35.1 billion from the previous year and 23 percent below the record set in 2011.

According to UNEP, the fall was down to "political uncertainty in several markets," meaning the lack of clarity over government support for the sector, and the falling cost of solar systems, said the report.

"While some may point to the fact that overall investment in renewable energies fell in 2013, the drop masks the many positive signals of a dynamic market that is fast evolving and maturing," said Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, in a statement.

"The impacts of climate change will leave no part of the world untouched and unaffected," chairman of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Rajendra Pachauri said on Monday.

In Europe, which has been a global leader in supporting the development of renewable energy, investment slumped 44 percent to $48 billion (35 billion Euros) last year, noted UNEP.

That compares to a 6 percent fall in China, becoming $56 billion, and a reduction of a tenth in the United States, to $36 billion. After nine years of growth, last year was the first time investments in renewable energies fell in emerging economies. Still, the news wasn't all bad for the renewable energy sector.

Overall, UNEP detailed, that its share of world electricity generation rose to 8.5 percent, up from 7.8 percent in 2012. It does not include hydroelectricity, renewable energies accounted for 43.6 percent of newly installed generating capacity in 2013.

Solar energy still has the strongest backing from investors, even though the average price of installing a solar panel has decreased by 60 percent.

ANTARA | PRIYAMBODO RH