It’s Not Just Infrastructure ETFs Obama Could Help

President-elect Barack Obama has emphasised that he wants to spark the hurting economy in an eco-friendly way, which may be good news for green companies and exchange traded funds (ETFs) in other areas besides strictly infrastructure. Obama has declared that he plans on creating 2.5 million green jobs, increasing the energy-efficiency of federal buildings and updating the country’s power grids, while others say the resources could go toward carbon capture and storage and the construction of wind turbines, says Sarah Gardner from the Marketplace Sustainability Desk.

The Nature Conservancy’s Bob Benidick has different aspirations, pushing projects deemed as green infrastructure, more specifically, wetlands like the Everglades.  His philosophy is that if infrastructure like highways are going to be revamped or newly constructed, they ought to be as green as possible, respecting the water systems and wildlife.

A coalition of 17 different enviornmental groups is expected to pitch their stimulus spending proposals to Washington. We will see who is the most convincing. 

Some ETFs that may be influenced include:

iPath Global Carbon ETN (GRN): down 35.7% since its inception on July 8

iShares S&P Global Infrastructure Index (IGF): down 43.6% year-to-date