Renewable energy stocks rise, and Australia to pass renewables legislation
Green companies get wind in their sails
August 17, 2009
CLEAN chip stocks outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 by 7.6 per cent in the first half of this year, showing companies focused on climate change solutions are capable of earning superior returns, according to analysis from The Climate Institute.
Over three years, clean indices recorded returns 47 per cent greater than the benchmark index, according to findings from The Climate Institute study.
The analysis combined three clean technology indices; the RepuTex Carbon Leaders Index Series, the RepuTex Climate Change Index Series and Bakers Investment Groups ALTEX Australia Index and compared them with the Standard and Poors ASX 200 index.
The findings came as Climate Change Minister Penny Wong yesterday announced the Federal Government had bowed to pressure and would decouple the Renewable Energy Target Bill from the emissions trading legislation rejected in the Senate on Thursday.
The RET Bill is now widely expected to be passed this week, paving the way for more than $28 billion of investment in a clean energy sector, expected to help the economy draw 20 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, by 2020.
Some ‘ethical’ funds invest in uranium
……….After a decade-long share-market boom – only marginally clouded by the reversals of early June – ethical investing has moved from the margins to the mainstream………………..
the pioneering idealists that started the industry suddenly face stiff competition. What’s more, the working definition of “ethical” becomes malleable…………..……………The stakes have risen so high because of compulsory superannuation. On 1 July 2005, “superannuation choice” became law, allowing employees to choose where they invest their superannuation money.
……………..some ethical funds have invested in the asbestos company James Hardie and the uranium miner BHP…………….
………………..One of the oldest and largest ethical funds on the ASX is Australian Ethical Investment, which has led the pack in banning Woolworths after its move into gambling. But AEI is suffering because of its hardline approach. Many of its rivals are growing faster than it is. While AEI and other traditional funds still espouse such high-minded ideals as “the preservation of endangered eco-systems”, newer fund managers such as Ausbil Dexia talk about “ethical opportunities”.
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 