China led the U.S. and other G-20 countries in clean energy investments for 2009 according to a new study by The Pew Charitable Trust.  China invested $34.6 billion in the clean energy economy in 2009 alone.  The U.S. was a distant second leading investor in clean energy with a total amount of $18.6 billion for the year.

Pew’s report tracks global investment activity in the renewable energy field.  The report states that clean energy has experienced investment growth of 230% since 2005 and the clean energy sector declined only 6.6% in 2009 despite the worst financial downturn in over half a century.  The report goes on to point out that, “clean energy investments are forecast to grow by 25% to $200 billion in 2010.”

The Pew report found that within the G-20, domestic policy decisions impact the competitive positions of countries. The report states, “Nations such as China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain with strong national policies aimed at reducing global warming pollution and incentivizing the use of renewable energy are establishing stronger competitive positions in the clean energy economy.  Nations seeking to compete effectively for clean energy jobs and manufacturing would do well to evaluate the array of policy mechanisms that can be employed to stimulate clean energy investment. China, for example, has set ambitious targets for wind, biomass and solar energy and, for the first time, took the top spot within the G-20 and globally for overall clean energy finance and investment in 2009.”