First published on the Cleantech Investor website, July 2008,  Copyright Cleantech Investor 2008

Figures published in a new report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) compared the increased interest in the cleantech sector to the Klondike gold rush of the late 1800s.

Fresh capital geared towards investment in energy sustainability totalled more than $148 billion (£74.5 billion) last year, representing a 60% increase in relation to the  amount for 2006.

But head of UNEP, Achim Steiner, said that compelling macroeconomic trends, such as increases in both temperatures and fossil fuel prices, are attracting more capital as the transition to a low-carbon society "is both a global imperative and an inevitability."

"This is attracting an enormous inflow of capital, talent and technology. What is unfolding is nothing less than a fundamental transformation of the world's energy infrastructure."

The report also revealed that the credit crunch had little impact on investment activity during 2007. Despite the "somewhat subdued" manner in which 2008 started, with events such as project disposal by a number of wind developers, the market has bounced back, with 34% more deals taking place during Q2 2007 compared to the previous year.

In terms of geographic deal concentration within cleantech, Europe and the US continue with the highest levels of investment. But the volume and value of deals have skyrocketed in China, India and Brazil – deal volumes in these three countries rose from 12% in 2004 to 22% in 2007, representing an equity increase from $1.8 billion to $26 billion.