If climate change is freaking you out, here is how you can help (and profit, too)!
Many of you may feel that trying to save the planet from global warming is such an overwhelming problem, like world hunger or world peace. What can one person really do?
True, ordinary people, unless motivated and guided en masse by their governments and scientists, are more or less powerless. But socially aware investors may delay, if not prevent, whatever catastrophes may be brought on by significant climate changes.
Governments around the world are already paving the way. New regulations are coming online, supporting financially and otherwise corporations that are manufacturing pro-active, environment-friendly products and/or technologies. No doubt, these companies could represent excellent profit opportunities.
The palette of industries/companies fans quite widely. You could look into the construction and property insurance companies, to manufacturers of biofuels, to power plants that use wind, nuclear or natural gas.
While others are self-explanatory, you may wonder about property insurance companies. Global climate change is held responsible for weird weather events we’ve been having these past few years. Many insurers are refusing to underwrite property insurance policies against hurricanes and other freaky weather events. But there is a growing group of insurers that sees this as an opportunity to underwrite millions, if not billions of dollars in specialty policies.
Then there are environment consulting businesses, crop growers (such as growers of corn and sugar cane used in the production of biofuels), and companies that facilitate something called “carbon credit trading.” Kyoto agreement allowed for accumulating carbon credits, the trading of which protects both the environment and companies’ bottom line. On the list are even car and auto parts manufacturers, with their cars emitting less pollutants or building their engines as hybrids.
Apparently, although the problem of global warming is huge and daunting, there are ways of baking that cake and eating it too.
