Climate change leads to $300 bn business : India

By Joydeep Gupta

New Delhi, Oct 20 - With the problems of climate change gaining urgency, tackling it has become a bigger business than software and biotechnology combined, a research report says.

Global annual revenues from climate change businesses - which include renewable energy, nuclear power and energy management - have now surpassed $300 billion, HSBC's global banking and markets research team has found.

HSBC said that 390 companies around the world could now be classed as providing goods or services that tackle climate change, up from 300 companies a year ago and about 166 in early 2004. These companies have not so far been considered together in one group as they are spread across many existing sector categories. But now, HSBC said, this was a 'clearly identifiable sector'.

'During the last year we've seen a massive growth in the number of companies providing goods and services designed to address climate change,' said Joaquim de Lima, global head of quant research for equities at HSBC.

'This demonstrates that companies are taking the issue seriously and are willing to adapt their businesses to the challenges.'

The companies include large multinationals such as Siemens and Philips, which are usually considered as general industrials; large renewable energy companies, such as Vestas and Suzlon, the Danish and Indian makers of wind turbines respectively; and a big number of smaller start-ups, such as energy management software specialists.

HSBC has created an index of climate change companies that includes only those getting a large proportion of their revenues from low-emission products or services.

The index was designed to help investors who want to put their money in companies that are expected to profit from climate change business.