Green Investing - Not Just For Treehuggers Anymore
Came across an interesting article in The Independent recently about a big tycoon who is focusing a lot of his attention (and money) on ‘green’ investments.
What’s interesting is that he himself has no real interest in environmentalism - he’s doing it purely for the money! Feels funny to say it, but I LOVE hearing about people like that!
Hopefully this is yet another sign that the green movement is indeed gaining momentum!
Anyway, here are a couple blurbs (I definitely recommend reading the article as well):
Vincent Tchenguiz, the property tycoon turned green energy investor, is planning to launch billions of dollars worth of clean technology funds in dozens of countries.
His business vehicle, Consensus Business Group (CBG), will announce early next year Africa’s first such fund, called Inspire. It will be based in South Africa and have $140m (£71m) to invest in environmentally friendly technologies in the continent.
Speaking exclusively to The Independent on Sunday, Tchenguiz revealed he has already invested at least $250m in more than 100 start-up companies and funds in this sector.
The colourful Iranian-born tycoon has a penchant for fast cars and planes - a model of the QSST supersonic jet, being developed by Lockheed Martin, sits prominently on his boardroom table. Yet he is making investment in green energy, once the preserve of the well-meaning brown-sandal brigade, fashionable.
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He is not alone. According to Venture Business Research, a specialist in this sector, total investment in energy technology is set to quadruple this year compared with 2004, with almost $2bn invested in the first 10 months of 2006 in Europe and North America. Companies developing biofuels, solar power, electricity storage batteries and wind farms are attracting the biggest amount of cash.
What is attracting investors such as Tchenguiz to green energy is the emergence of a new commodity - carbon (or more specifically, licences to emit it). As governments look to tax producers of carbon (the biggest contributor to climate change) and cap their emissions, technologies that reduce emissions - for example, by generating power without using carbon-emitting fossil fuels - are in demand. Corporations can also choose to invest in clean energy projects such as wind farms or forests if they think this is cheaper than cutting their own emissions. This is slowly stimulating a market for carbon where licences to pollute can be bought and sold like any other financial derivative or commodity. The carbon market is still immature and largely unregulated, but Tchenguiz believes this will change.
Technorati Tags: investing, technology funds, investment, stocks, green energy, green business, carbon, biofuels, solar, wind power
Written by Bentley on December 4th, 2006 with
4 comments.
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