First published in Quoted Cleantech, January 2010. Copyright Cleantech Investor Ltd. 2010

The 'failure' of the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is unlikely to weigh significantly in the minds of investors, according to the results of a recent survey of investment professionals.

A cleantech investor survey, which was conducted by investment bank Jefferies International before the Copenhagen meeting, found that continued government subsidies and a general recovery of the credit markets were more important factors than a resulting consensus at Copenhagen. “What is clear is that both local government incentives and transnational policies aimed at putting the brakes on climate change are fundamental to the continued growth of the cleantech industry,” said Bruce Huber, who heads Jefferies’ cleantech investment banking group.

Good month for water and waste; but flat for wind

December proved to be a mixed month for European cleantech stocks, but firms with exposure to the solar sector performed well.

Companies involved in supplying equipment used to manufacture photovoltaic cells and solar panels had a good month. Roth & Rau saw its share price increase 12.1% during December thanks to strong orders from manufacturers in India and China (see page 8). Shares in fellow German solar manufacturing equipment vendor Centrotherm also did well, following up their hefty 32.2% gain during November with a further 3.4% rise.