Russ Steele
We have discuss the economic opportunities of going green here, mainly in the comments section on this blog, many times. My position is that going green can be a risky investment strategy, especially if it is based only on reducing greenhouse gases to lower the global temperature. What happens when the temperatures go down, like they are now, without any major reductions in greenhouse gases? What happens to the green investment?
Philip Stott, at Global Warming Politics points out that green companies focusing on climate change have seen their stocks slide much faster than indexes covering a broader sets of stocks. The Wilder Hill New Energy Global Innovation Index, 91 companies listed on 24 stock exchanges, is known as the NEX is an indicator to green investment.
Philip Stott writes:
In these dark days, the NEX is not having a happy ride, and, according to the latest report in the Scientific American [’Climate change stocks fall more than wider markets’, Scientific American, October 3], “shares in companies specializing in curbing greenhouse gas emissions, including energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, have tumbled faster than wider markets this year.” Figures for the last full quarter (June 30 to September 30) show that they fell by 30.3%, and that they are down by as much as 39% over the year so far.
No telling where they are today with even lower market. When people are cold and hungry they are not going to be investing in green companies that are reducing CO2 to lower the earth temperature even more. I would if investors are watching the global temperatures, as well as stock market indexes, and have decided that going green has a much higher investment risk than more traditional stocks.
You can read the rest of the story here.
h/t to Benny Pieser and ICECAP