By sowunmi hellena

THE World Bank has disclosed that its finance for renewable energy and efficiency of energy projects in developing countries has risen by 24 per cent in the last fiscal year to $3.3 billion.

World Bank's Vice President for sustainable development, Katherine Sierra said: "We have now committed to even more challenging goals on clean energy and carbon intensity reduction investments as we strive to make reliable energy access for all a reality."

The bank added that two out of every three dollars spent in private sector development were in the sector of renewable energy or energy efficiency.

"Commitments to renewable energy and energy efficiency for the year ending June 30, represented 40 per cent of the total energy lending by the bank," the statement said. Also, a report by an international renewable energy agency said that during 2007-2008, a number of countries exceeded existing targets for 2010, including China (10 GW of wind capacity target), Germany (electricity target), Hungary (electricity target) and Spain (solar PV target).

According to the report, by early 2009, policy targets for renewable energy existed in at least 73 countries and states. This included state/provincial-level targets in the United States and Canada, which have no national targets to date.

It may be of interesting to note that the European Union (EU) had set a target of 20 per cent of final energy consumption by 2020, which was enacted in 2007. The EU target was followed in 2008 by final confirmation of 2020 targets for all 27 individual EU member countries.

Globally, many policy targets have been enacted in jurisdictions. At the national level, new targets were either enacted or upgraded in Abu Dhabi/UAE, Albania, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cape Verde, France, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, South Korea, and Tunisia. And at other levels, targets were enacted or upgraded in several states/provinces in the United States and Canada, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Scotland (UK) and Gujarat (India), among others.