NAIROBI, July 1 (Xinhua) - Over 148 billion U.S. dollars in new funding entered the sustainable energy sector globally last year, up 60 percent from 2006, even as a credit crunch roiled financial markets, said "Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2008," an analysis report issued by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) here on Tuesday.

    "Just as thousands were drawn to California and the Klondike in the late 1800s, the green energy gold rush is attracting legions of modern day prospectors in all parts of the globe," said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner upon the release of the report.

    The "green energy gold rush" came amid climate change worries, soaring oil prices and food prices all over the world, which experts say may trigger a potential long-term global economic recession.

    The total sustainable energy capital flow was 204.9 billion dollars, of which 98.2 billion dollars went into new renewable energy generation, especially in wind sector in the United States, China and Spain. 50.1 billion dollars entered the technology development and manufacturing scale-up, with another 56.6 billion dollars changed hands through mergers and acquisitions, according to the report.

    Most of the new money flowed into Europe, followed by the United States. China. India and Brazil, however, draw growing investor interests, when new investments in the three countries climbed 14 times from 1.8 billion to 26 billion dollars.