Posted on 03/28/2005 3:29:40 PM PST by NormsRevenge
California's largest public pension plans want investors to think green - as in money and the environment.
And they want deep-pocket investors to think beyond feel-good investments such as power-generating solar and wind farms - to wireless sensors to monitor power usage in supermarkets, or to home water-treatment systems.
Investors can make money by mining opportunities in emerging clean technology ventures, say officials at the influential California Public Employees' Retirement System and California State Teachers' Retirement System. Or, they say, they can eventually lose money by ignoring the future financial risks of greenhouse gas emissions.
"We're trying to look at long-term issues that matter. What we're trying to do is wake people up, study it and understand it," said Christopher J. Ailman, chief investment officer at CalSTRS, the nation's third-largest public pension plan with $125 billion in assets.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, dozens of leading institutional investors, venture capitalists, financial advisers, entrepreneurs, legal experts and scientists will converge at The Fairmont hotel in San Jose to explore the nascent topic of environmental investment, clean technology and climate risk.
The gathering, co-sponsored by CalPERS and CalSTRS, will include leaders from investment banks, private and charitable foundations, and pension funds from Texas, Washington, Illinois and the University of California, as well as finance officials from the Singapore government.
"It's another avenue we need to explore as far as investment opportunities. This is a source of income for the future - a good investment that makes good sense for the environment," said Rob Feckner, president of CalPERS, the nation's No. 1 fund, with $182.9 billion in assets.
Together, CalPERS and CalSTRS are earmarking nearly $1 billion to invest in clean technology companies ranging from next-generation rechargeable battery makers to manufacturers of advanced fuel-cell membranes.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Welcome to the GReenocracy.
There are no green house gas emissions that a human can make that will do anything. One volcano can spew out more in minutes that all of human kind can do.
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