HSBC Investments to launch climate change fund

Date: Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Author: Reuters.com

LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC Investments is set to open next month a climate change fund which will invest in companies that make their profits from fighting global warming.

This is the latest in a string of such funds.

Rising emissions of carbon dioxide, produced by burning fossil fuels like coal and oil, are widely blamed for contributing to a warming climate and have prompted a hunt for alternative sources of energy.

"HSBC considers climate change to be one of the biggest investment themes for the foreseeable future," Farley Thomas, global head of wholesale at HSBC Investments, said in a statement released on Monday.

"In launching this fund, our aim is to offer investors greater choice when aiming to capture climate change opportunities."

The new HSBC fund will invest in companies that focus on clean energy production, energy efficiency and water waste and pollution control, a spokeswoman added.

Investors in private clean energy companies are making returns of more than 50 percent, according to research consultancy New Energy Finance.