NZ must embrace clean, greentech overnight

Tāmaki Makaurau - New Zealand must embrace clean, green tech overnight because Aotearoa is falling behind in environmental action.

New Zealand sits at 22 in the CleanTech Group Innovation Index, but an urgent concerted effort could boost Aotearoa into the top 10 by 2022.

Only some Kiwi organisaitons are thriving in the greentech world.

Sustainable Coastlines has attracted a grant from Microsoft’s $US50 million, five-year commitment to put AI in the hands of those working to protect the planet across four key areas: agriculture, biodiversity, climate change and water.

On international benchmarks measures such as the Global Green Economy Index or the Global Cleantech Innovation Index, NZ is dropping behind other small economies such as Singapore, Denmark, Finland and Norway.

Cleantech are companies, projects and technologies involved in improving environmental sustainability. They cove clean energy, green products and/or services and sustainable practices.

Tackling climate change will require whole new ways of doing business based on more sustainable practices.

Consumer priorities are also changing, with growing interest in plant-based diets and buying from producers closer to home.

Today, there is a steadily expanding global clean economy in which an increasing number of companies are dedicated to achieving such objectives as resource sustainability, clean-energy transition from fossil fuels to zero-carbon energy production and storage, and water-scarcity solutions.

Avast number of companies have sprung up in recent years to advance cleantech ambitions in pursuit of a greener future.

Germany’s CleanTech Capital, for instance, provides business development, corporate and project finance, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and restructuring services in cleantech and renewable energy across Europe, North America and South America.

The Canadian government has pledged $55 million towards investing in the sector across 20 clean technology companies.

Fund managers are boosting their exposures to cleantech and natural green and blue resources. This includes:

Low-carbon transport: This area offers investors several opportunities in electric vehicles, battery technologies and emission-reduction systems.

Smart energy: The growing demand for greener homes is spurring the development of energy-efficient technologies, which, in turn, is creating investment opportunities in renewables, greener homes and efficient factories.

The food and agriculture industry: This sector is seeing companies explore new ways to meet the growing demand of rising populations while limiting the use of scarce water and land resources. As such, opportunities are arising to invest in firms developing food and agricultural technologies.

Natural-resources preservation: With more pressure being applied on firms to manage supply chains better, opportunities to invest in firms that are addressing their environmental impacts and evolving their practices are growing.