March 2009 might seem like an odd time to be launching a newsletter devoted to cleantech stocks, with cleantech indices currently at all-time lows (see page 1). The credit crunch has seen large numbers of investors withdraw from equities altogether, while those few equity investors who remain in stocks are generally choosing to focus on traditionally ‘safe’ sectors.
But the long-term outlook for the cleantech industry is still very bullish. As we report on page 1, although clean energy investment has seen a slump in growth during the past year it is still expected to hold steady during the global economic downturn before resuming growth later.
Meanwhile, despite the financial crisis, governments worldwide remain committed to reducing carbon emissions and enhancing their energy security. The European Union, which has already pledged to cut its emissions by 20% by 2020, is putting pressure on other regions to set greenhouse gas targets, and this month re-confirmed it would increase its own target to 30% if other countries joined in.
In the US, the new administration is keen that clean energy should play its part in taking the country out of recession. President Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package, announced last month, included $11 billion for energy efficiency projects, another $11 billion for smart grid investments, $3.4 billion for carbon capture and sequestration demonstration projects and $2 billion for research into batteries for electric vehicles.
There is even $400 million for the US’s new Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). This is a body modelled on the Pentagon’s research agency DARPA, which contributed greatly to the development of defence and spinoff technologies over the past few decades.
Back across the Atlantic, Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants to create 400,000 ‘green’ jobs in the UK over the next eight years.
Such investments and initiatives from governments mean that cleantech is set to play a much greater part in the world’s economy during the coming decades.
We cannot say exactly when will be the best time to buy into cleantech. But what we do undertake is to keep tabs on what we believe are the most promising cleantech businesses in the world, be they large or small.
Jon Mainwaring
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