London: The US, China and India will become the most attractive countries for renewable-energy projects in the next five years, said accounting firm Ernst and Young.

China and India are likely to overtake the US by 2012, according to the latest Ernst and Young Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index.

The quarterly index shows that China has climbed three places up the wind index to fifth position. India remains the second most attractive country in the world for investment in wind energy, Ernst and Young said in an e-mailed statement. `Both countries are vying with the US,’’ the statement said.

China will probably overtake the US as the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases this year or next, the International Energy Agency’s chief economist said last month.

That’s earlier than a previous IEA forecast of 2009 for emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. China’s economy grew by 11.1% in the first quarter from a year earlier.

The IEA, a Paris-based agency that advises 26 energy-consuming nations, said in November the world’s governments could curb output of greenhouse gases by 5% in 2015 and save money by embracing alternatives to fossil fuels such as nuclear power and by promoting efficiency.

China’s investment in renewable energy is increasing, with the annual installation of wind turbines more than doubling in the past 18 months, Ernst and Young said.