The United States ranks 17th globally in the production of clean energy technologies, according to a report.
Cleantech accounts for approximately 0.3% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) at about $45 billion, and the sector is expanding at a rate of 28% per year since 2008.
However, the U.S. is far behind China, which creates about 1.4% of its GDP from cleantech–accounting for $45 billion.
Based on percentage of GDP, Denmark leads the pack with 3.1% ($9.4 billion) produced primarily by the country’s strong wind turbine industry.
The report, released today, was commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund.
"The Chinese have made, on the political level, a conscious decision to capture this market and to develop this market aggressively," Donald Pols, an economist with the WWF, told the Associated Press.
Germany, Brazil and Lithuania round out the top five for GDP percentage, according to the report.
"When you speak to the Chinese, climate change is not an ideological issue. It’s just a fact of life. While we debate climate change and the transition to a low carbon economy, the debate is passed in China," Pols added. "For them it’s implementation. It’s a growth sector, and they want to capture this sector."
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