IF the economic slowdown continues, will the strategy of the Global EcoTrends fund change in any way?

THEN no, the fundamentals remain unchanged. Governments continue to support action on climate change. With various fiscal stimulus packages announced by the US, Europe and China, support for greening the infrastructure is apparent. That creates “green-collar jobs” and investment opportunities.

IF the provisions of the 2008 US bailout bill take effect, extending tax credits to utilities investing in alternative energies, will this alter the market substantially?

THEN it is potentially a “game-changing” move. President Obama seems to support alternative energy, and the EU is planning to increase the proportion of alternative energy 20% by 2020. Once financing eases, we expect alternative energy markets to develop strongly. With the US production tax credit being extended to eight years, we expect large developers to create economies of scale and more opportunities.

IF the game changes, as you suggest, then where is it best to be – solar, wind or both?

THEN long term, both wind and solar may benefit. Due to finance issues, solar among other industries is going through a shakeout faster than anticipated, so we are cautious. In wind, we are selective, holding large, utility-scale wind farm developers, which are trading at very attractive valuations.

IF Copenhagen fails, if countries don’t reach broad agreement at the 2009 Climate Conference …

THEN ultimately all they will be doing is delaying progress on addressing climate change. This issue will not disappear because of an economic downturn.

IF Copenhagen is a success and climate change legislation is broadly implemented in many countries, will that limit economic growth?

Then our Sustainability Research team would continue to argue that is not a limit to economic growth, and can be exactly the opposite. However, these are challenging times, and preparations for a post-Kyoto era are likely to face rocky road ahead.