South Korea and China lead the world's 20 largest economies in the percentage of economic stimulus money they invest in environmental projects, UNEP reported on Sept. 24. Other members of the Group of 20 leading economic powers, including the United States, trail behind in percentage of green investment from stimulus money, the agency found. Almost exactly a year after the global financial crisis began, UNEP found that about 15 percent of the estimated USD 3.1 trillion in global stimulus funds are "green" in nature. But only 3 percent of stimulus funds committed to environmental projects were actually disbursed by the middle of this year, and the total in committed funds is still below 1 percent of global GDP, the amount economists recommend to reduce dependence on carbon and fuel the transition to a greener world economy, the agency said. (Reuters)
