More and more investors are putting their money into sustainability funds, but they often fall short of expectations. With a simple trick, these funds could become truly climate-neutral, investment strategists now promise.
There is an effective lever to encourage consumers and companies to protect the environment more – and it works through price. When it is expensive to emit greenhouse gases, inventors set about devising alternatives for products and production. The European Emissions Trading System is intended to drive precisely this transformation of the economy. The principle: Anyone who wants to emit CO₂ must legitimize this by buying certificates. Emissions certificates have been issued by the EU since 2005, and the number of available rights is becoming more and more scarce every year in order to further limit emissions. Across Europe, around 9,000 companies in the energy sector and energy-intensive industries have to legitimize their greenhouse gas emissions with these certificates – for example, steelworks, refineries, paper manufacturers and cement plants are affected.