Al Gore, in a scene from his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth Photo: Paramount Pictures - -Finfacts Blog: Ozone Man's Vindication

Merrion Stockbrokers Limited has announced the launch of the Merrion Environment Bond. This new product, which will seek to take advantage of investments being made in the future of the environment was launched at the Merrion/Landsbanki Energy and the  Environment Conference featuring former US Vice President Al Gore, which took place in Dublin over the weekend. 

The Merrion Environment Bond is a medium term investment with the returns linked to the performance of a mix of alternative energy providers and companies involved in the water-supply industry.  Commodities that are used in the manufacture of biofuels are also included. 

The bond has a four year maturity and offers 90% capital protection.  The minimum subscription is €100,000 and the closing date for applications is 21^st December 2007. 

Speaking about the bond Shane Nolan, Head of Wealth Management in Merrion, commented “We are delighted to launch this very innovative product, which provides investors with a relatively safe way to gain exposure to the phenomenal growth being experienced globally in clean energy, as well as to rising demand for water and biofuels.”

Merrion used the background of their Energy and the Environment Conference which took place on Saturday to announce the launch of this new product.  As well as former Vice President Gore, other speakers at the conference included Minister for Energy and the Environment, Eamon Ryan TD; British Airways CEO, Willie Walsh; Tadhg O’Donoghue, ESB Chairman; David Begg, ICTU General Secretary and Antony Frogatt, European Energy Policy Consultant. 

Over 400 invited guests, comprising Irish and international investors and leading company executives as well as a range of important Irish political figures, attended the conference. 

Ireland has a key role to play in promoting the environmental agenda, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Al Gore told the conference.

Gore receives up to $175,000 for such speaking appearances, although he waives or reduces his fee for some non-profit companies and schools. Fast Company magazine has estimated his net worth at more than $100 million.

The co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize said Ireland's growing prosperity brought with it "increased moral and political responsibilities to take a leadership role in tackling climate change".

Ireland, he said, "with its successful business model and unique political positioning, has a key role to play among developed nations in driving the environmental agenda".

It was an unusual conference in today's digital age given the cost.

There was no content information on the Merrion website - just a small static image - and the Irish Times reports that all media apart from official photographers were barred from attending Gore's keynote address headlined Thinking Green: Economic Strategy for the 21st Century.

"From Ireland's perspective, I intend to push for the most ambitious agreement possible to cover the period following the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012. I hope that Ireland can meet, and even exceed its Kyoto commitments and become an example for the rest of the world over the next decade," Green Party leader John Gormley is reported as saying by the Times.

Last Thursday, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Gormley launched a publicity campaign on climate change but again an "urgent call of action to Irish society" was unmatched with any credible proposals.

On nuclear power, David Begg, general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said that nuclear energy should not be "foreclosed" as an option.

ESB chairman Tadhg O'Donoghue, speaking in a personal capacity, said current nuclear technologies would render a nuclear power station on the Irish electricity system "technically unfeasible and commercially very difficult".

Nevertheless, he noted that Ireland's electricity interconnection with the UK means the country is importing electricity from a range of fuel sources, including nuclear.

In an interview with the Financial Times, published on Saturday, Rajendra Pachauri, the  chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s top scientific body on climate change that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore said: “It is wrong to indulge in the fallacy that the cost of tackling climate change will disrupt economic progress and will cost jobs.”

He cited Japan and France as examples of energy efficiency. Japan took steps three decades ago to shift from coal and oil to natural gas. It has efficient public transport and uses renewable energy on a significant scale. France relies on nuclear energy for about 80% of power generation.

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