Weekly international investment round up to December 15, 2009
• Copenhagen climate summit highlights global warming paradoxes
• Leading wind energy index up by 33%
In his attempt to fight global warming it had been joked that President Bush’s main plan to dramatically lower temperatures was by encouraging the world to switch from Fahrenheit to Celsius. Now, representatives from 192 nations are in Copenhagen with a fresh chance to usher in a new era, ‘the Eco Age’.
To much fan-fair and celebrations a deal will no doubt be achieved and even though there is little chance of it being legally binding or for all of the pledges made actually being kept the summit does signal a sea change in attitudes and again marks the rising tide of global ecological concern.
The Copenhagen climate summit has beautifully highlighted certain inconsistencies and paradoxes around the whole global warming debate which along with cost seem to unfortunately stop any real meaningful progress from being made to help counter the greatest threat of our time. The fact that the highly respected and independent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) lays the blame squarely on mankind and states it is more than 90% probable that human activity is largely responsible for modern day climate change some are still left in denial, protecting their own interests and haggling over the one-tenth doubt. But whatever governmental promises are made ultimately the private sector will be the ones implementing the most successful changes therefore, for investors this massive threat also presents an opportunity.
For example, interest is growing in the wind power generation sector but this too has certain contradictions which currently cloud its full potential. The Bloomberg Wind Energy Index is a good indicator of its rising appeal. This is a multiple weighted index of the leading wind power stocks in the world and has grown by 33% in the last 12 months and 23% year to date. Denmark based Vestas Wind Systems, the world’s largest wind-power equipment maker, has seen its share price rise by 19% over the last year and seems well placed to capitalize on any agreement reached in Copenhagen as should India’s biggest wind turbine maker, Suzion Energy, who may benefit from the influx of any green dollar grants made to the emerging nations. In anticipation of this weeks negotiations the Global Wind Energy Council released calculations showing how wind energy alone could achieve up to 65% of the emission reduction pledges made by industrialised countries but this masks research carried out by Professor David MacKay who states that even if every available plot, offshore location and tidal estuary in the UK was covered with wind, wave and tidal power the country would still not meet all of its existing energy needs. Like many other nations only a third of the UK’s energy comes in the form of electricity with transport and heating using other methods. The growing fad for small, domestic wind turbines is also not helping the wider cause as the vast majority are simply not big enough to power anything other than a couple of energy saving light bulbs. In wind generation, size matters.
But however complex the questions may now be at least in-part the answer is blowing in the wind.
Mark Lamb is Head of the Life Dept. at Citadel Insurance plc which is authorised to carry on general and long term business of insurance under the Insurance Business Act, 1998 and is regulated by the MFSA. Contact by email: [email protected] Tel; 25579000. Website: www.citadelplc.com
This article does not intend to give investment advice and its contents should not be construed as such. Information in this article has been obtained from various public sources and is given by way of information only. Readers are always encouraged to seek financial advice before making any investment decision.
