How to invest in tackling climate change

Guardian Money looks at where to put your cash if you plan to make an ethical investment
The Guardian, Saturday 5 September 2009
Isas and investment trusts
All the funds below tend to have minimum lump sum investments of around £1,000, but check with each provider for details.
Schroder’s Global Climate Change fund (schroders.com) invests in companies involved in reducing carbon dependency or adapting to the impact of climate change. One of the first in this field, it’s down around 10% since its launch in June 2007, but in the last six months it is up around 30%. Top investments include Honda (hybrid vehicles) and Gamesa (Spanish wind turbine makers).
Henderson Industries of the Future (henderson.com) promises to invest in “positive sustainability themes”, with stocks such as Nalco (water treatment), Roper Industries (industrial controls to comply with regulatory standards), and Schneider Electric (energy efficiency). It has fallen by 11.5% over the past year, but is up 38% over the past five years.
BlackRock New Energy investment trust (blackrock.co.uk) has bounced around wildly. If you bought five years ago you’d have made 105%. But if you bought a year ago you’re down 36.5%. Since March it is back up 30%. Major holdings include American Superconductor (smart grids), Archer Daniels Midland (ethanol, biodiesel), Vestas and Iberdrola (Spanish utility).
F&C Global Climate Opportunities (fandc.com) invests in companies at the heart of the climate change issue, including alternative energy, sustainable mobility, waste, advanced materials, forestry and agriculture, and water. Down 12.4% over one year, up around 25% in the past six months. Stocks include EAGA (UK insulation provider) and ITT Corporation (big in water management).
WHEB Sustainability (whebam.com), run by some of the UK’s most experienced green/ethical fund managers. Focuses on climate change, water issues and demographics. Major holdings include EnerNOC (US energy efficiency) and Epure (Singapore/China water treatment).
Tiburon Green (tiburon.co.uk) launches next month. Focus will be on renewable energy in Asia. Starting portfolio will include China High Speed Transmission (wind equipment developer) and Silex Systems (Australian uranium enrichment and solar energy tech company).
Virgin Climate Change (Virginmoney.com/funds) invests in UK/European firms with a lighter carbon footprint. Down 28.2% over the past 12 months but up around 30% since March.
HSBC GIF Climate Change fund (assetmanagement.hsbc.com) hopes to capitalise on what it calls “one of the defining investment opportunities of the years ahead”. Invests in 50-70 stocks from the HSBC Global Climate Change benchmark index. Down 23.6% over the past year but up 40% over the past six months.
Venture Capital Trusts and Enterprise Investment Schemes
Higher-risk funds with higher minimum investments, often putting your money into start-ups where some will succeed and make lots of money – and others will fail. They have a number of tax advantages for higher rate taxpayers.
Ventus (ventusvct.com) runs three VCTs which have invested £50m in wind farms such as Craig Wind Farm in Dumfriesshire and Fenpower in Cambridgeshire. Its first VCT, Ventus 1, is the fourth best-performing VCT of 111 this year, up 46%. None available for investment right now, but they are examining options for new share issues. The funds are managed by climatechangecapital.com.
Climate Exchange VCT invests in an emissions exchange operator, a role targeted by climate camp protestors this week as carbon gamblers. Shares in Climate Exchange plc are currently trading at half the levels of a year ago.
Oxford Capital (oxcp.com) is typical of many seedcorn-style business that match investors with high-tech projects, many in the sustainability field and some connected to the university. Its fifth Oxford Gateway EIS fund is open to investment – but the minimum is £25,000.

From the Inbox - Tell Congress to close the “Halliburton Loophole” to protect drinking water from contamination

Tell Congress to close the “Halliburton Loophole” to protect drinking water from contamination Hydraulic fracturing is an oil and gas production technique that involves the injection of fluids, often containing toxic chemicals, into oil or gas wells at very high pressure. Although the Safe Drinking Water Act regulates most forms of underground injection in order to protect drinking water sources, in 2005 Congress passed the “Halliburton Loophole,” which exempts hydraulic fracturing from the law’s reach (the exemption was given that name because Halliburton is one of the companies that provide hydraulic fracturing services). Since the exemption was enacted, hydraulic fracturing operations have been linked to contaminated drinking water in communities around the country. Legislation to repeal the exemption has recently been introduced in both the House and Senate. Among other things, the legislation would require public disclosure of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids. What to do Send a message urging your senators and representative to co-sponsor legislation to repeal the Halliburton Loophole (H.R. 2766/S. 1215).

Warmest Arctic temperatures for 2,000 years, says new study

Arctic temperatures in the 1990s reached their warmest level of any decade in at least 2,000 years, new research indicates.

The study presents new evidence that the Arctic would be cooling if not for greenhouse gas emissions overpowering natural climate patterns.

The report published in Science magazine found that thousands of years of gradual Arctic cooling, related to natural changes in Earth’s orbit, would continue today if not for emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

“This result is particularly important because the Arctic, perhaps more than any other region on Earth, is facing dramatic impacts from climate change,” NCAR scientist David Schneider, one of the co-authors, said in a statement.

“This study provides us with a long-term record that reveals how greenhouse gases from human activities are overwhelming the Arctic’s natural climate system.”

Darrell Kaufman of Northern Arizona University, the lead author, said the results indicate that recent warming is more anomalous than previously documented.

“Scientists have known for a while that the current period of warming was preceded by a long-term cooling trend,” said Kaufman. “But our reconstruction quantifies the cooling with greater certainty than before.”

The research team’s temperature analysis showed that summer temperatures in the Arctic, in step with the reduced energy from the Sun (related to an approximately 21,000-year cyclical wobble in Earth’s tilt relative to the Sun), cooled at an average rate of about 0.2 degrees Celsius per thousand years.

The temperatures eventually bottomed out during the “Little Ice Age,” a period of widespread cooling that lasted roughly from the 16th to the mid-19th centuries.

Even though the orbital cycle that produced the cooling continued, it was overwhelmed in the 20th century by human-induced warming. The result was summer temperatures in the Arctic by the year 2000 that were about 1.4 degrees Celsius higher than would have been expected from the continued cyclical cooling alone.

“If it hadn’t been for the increase in human-produced greenhouse gases, summer temperatures in the Arctic should have cooled gradually over the last century,” said Bette Otto-Bliesner, an NCAR scientist who participated in the study.

The new study follows previous work showing that temperatures over the last century warmed almost three times faster in the Arctic than elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere.

This phenomenon, called Arctic amplification, occurs as highly reflective Arctic ice and snow melt away, allowing dark land and exposed ocean to absorb more sunlight.

“Because we know that the processes responsible for past Arctic amplification are still operating, we can anticipate that it will continue into the next century,” said Gifford Miller of the University of Colorado at Boulder, a member of the study team.

“Consequently, Arctic warming will continue to exceed temperature increases in the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in accelerated loss of land ice and an increased rate of sea level rise, with global consequences.”

Source:
Cable News Network, “Warmest Arctic temperatures for 2,000 years, says new study“, accessed September 3, 2009

From the Inbox - A narrow window

Our Senators are getting back to work in Washington next week, and they’ve just announced that they’ll be introducing their version of a clean energy and climate bill before the end of the month. That means there’s still a narrow window of time to make sure they get it right. Tens of thousands of folks like you have already sent letters to their Senators asking them to seize this opportunity. In fact, we’re only 30,000 letters away from reaching 100,000 — that’s a lot of people sending their voices directly into the halls of Washington. That’s a powerful message. Will you send a letter of support now, and help us reach 100,000? A strong clean energy and climate bill means millions of new American jobs, greater energy independence, and a healthier planet. It’s common sense to us. But clean energy is a threat to the oil and coal industry lobbyists, who are paid to by the special interests who make America less secure and more dependent on foreign oil. Overcoming their effort, and making sure our Senators keep our country moving forward, is going to take a strong statement that can only come from thousands of Americans, speaking together. 100,000 letters from people like you and me telling our Senators that we think strong clean energy and climate legislation is the right choice for America cannot be ignored. Please voice your support. Send your message today and help reach our goal of 100,000 letters to Senators: http://act.repoweramerica.org/page/s/emailsenate Thanks, Dave Boundy Campaign Manager