Barclays launches climate change index

Barclays has partnered with Solactive to launch the Solactive Climate Change Europe BTI Index.

The index has been designed to meet the needs of investors looking to explore investment opportunities arising from the global move to a lower-carbon economy. It is created, updated, maintained and published by Solactive AG, a German index provider.

The index tracks and invests in European companies which are aligned with a 2°C global warming scenario through to 2050 and maximizes investor exposure to companies with emission reduction targets. It calculates the contribution of companies to climate change under different scenarios amounting to 260 constituents out of a universe of 600 of the largest European companies.

Barclays says the index is also designed to enhance return profiles by applying additional smart beta filters, only including stocks with both lower volatility and a consistent track record of growing dividends.