Friday, November 2, 2012

Why you need a climate change portfolio

John Wasik in Reuters: Whether you believe in man-made global warming or not, it's undeniable that trillions of dollars will be spent on technologies to address the collateral damage of climate change. Superstorm Sandy has just provided a tragic and devastating exclamation mark to the ongoing discussion of climate change and its link to extreme weather.

...While estimates vary widely, the impact of climate change on the world economy may be at least $4 trillion by 2030, according to Mercer LLC, a global financial consultant. Countries - particularly those in the euro zone - are responding to global warming by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases through greener energy policies and taxes.

Extreme weather has cost the United States some $67 billion resulting from 21 devastating events since the beginning of last year alone, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And that does not include the total tally of losses from this summer's drought or Sandy.

Higher global temperatures translate into a greater intensity of hurricanes, floods, ocean storm surges and thunderstorms in certain regions while other areas will be hurt by droughts, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an international research group. That means more disaster-related losses, water- and agriculture-related problems and more variability in weather patterns.

...A strategic position in key companies and exchange-traded funds will help reduce the "climate change risk" your portfolio faces by acknowledging the perils of the problem and its impact on global infrastructure, water supplies and energy production.

How do you sensibly and ethically invest in companies that are connected to catastrophes? Since I'm solution-oriented, I prefer companies in clean no-carbon energy, water reclamation, energy management and conservation, green transportation and agricultural technology. Entire industries are adapting to the impact global warming is having on energy and food production, infrastructure and transportation....

A highwater pump house on Schönhauser Straße, in Köln, shot by Stefan Schilling / Kaspar Kraemer Architekten BDA, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

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