Martin Hawes: Tomorrow's road to wealth paved in cleantech

Climate change will lead to transformation in how and where we live. What does that have to do with building wealth?

Well, everything - whenever there is great change in the world, there is a transfer of wealth.

There will be transformation regarding energy and the environment in the next few years and some people will become extremely wealthy from it.

As a species we are pouring huge resources into stopping climate change and the result will see a wealth divide like few others in history.

Put the word "cleantech" into Google and you will get more than 60 million results. Cleantech is the use of science and technology to provide clean energy or better solutions for waste and pollution.

It is the result of a shift in thinking from a world that had no environmental limits to one in which we must measure the effects of what we do and reduce our impact.

All over the world, people are scrambling to provide the means for clean energy and those who come up with a winning technology will benefit. So, too, will those who have invested in it.

The problem is that it is very difficult at this stage to predict who the winners will be.

I cannot say which technology - let alone which company - will come through. My guess is that solar energy will be a winner but several different means of improving solar energy are being explored and, in any event, there will doubtless be other technologies.

You should not try to pick individual winners. Instead, many managed funds are based on this area and will give good exposure to clean tech.

A couple of these managed funds seem to be a much better way to invest than trying to find the best company among the thousands researching ideas.

I do not have the complete investment answers in this area but there is an important idea: the trend towards greater care for the environment is not a fad and will not go away.

Over the next decade or two, successful research will change how we live and I am sure this will lead to great long-term investment opportunities for smart investors.

* Martin Hawes is a financial adviser. His disclosure statement can be found at www.martinhawes.com