Public Equity Investing in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency

by Paul Hilton, Trillium Asset Management 

Trillium’s Sustainable Opportunities thematic public equity strategy aims to address global sustainability challenges in three core areas: climate solutions, economic inclusion, and healthy living. While many of Trillium’s equity strategies have exposure to renewable energy, the Sustainable Opportunities strategy has a more specific, thematic focus, and generally a greater level of exposure to companies benefiting from the shift to a more sustainable economy.

Within climate solutions, a primary focus is renewable energy and energy conservation, particularly exposure to companies involved in: • Electrification and Grid Modernization, including storage • Energy Efficiency • Geothermal • Renewable Energy Financing • Solar Energy • Wind Energy

In our view, climate change is the top existential issue facing the planet. Long-term impacts from climate change are well documented by the IPCC, and include more extreme weather events including heatwaves, droughts, and floods. These impacts will lead to food and water insecurity as well as public health and biodiversity threats.

We believe climate change also represents an investment opportunity, given the level of investment required to meet global goals such as the 1.5 degree C global warming target of the Paris Agreement in 2015. For example, the International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that meeting global energy transformation goals will require an additional $47 trillion in cumulative investment from 2023-2050, plus roughly $1 trillion in annual investment in fossil fuel technologies redirected towards energy transition solutions. This would result in annual investments in energy transition technologies more than quadrupling from current levels to meet the 1.5 degree C pathway.

Read Paul's full article here

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