feature article shortened headline
Germany has led the world in cumulative PV installations since 2005
while three were developing .
The decline was due in part to major reductions in technology costs . This is especially true for PV , which saw record new installations despite a 22 percent drop in dollars invested . Lower manufacturing costs and efficiency improvements enabled several locations around the world to build onshore wind and solar PV installations without subsidy support , particularly in Latin America .
Despite these trends , some nations increased their spending on renewables , with Japan ’ s investment up 80 percent from the previous year . Other countries that increased their investment in 2013 included Canada , Chile , Israel , New Zealand , the United Kingdom and Uruguay .
Achim Steiner , executive director of the United Nations Environment Program ( UNEP ) does not see the drop in investment as a lull in the market .
23