Deutsche Bank's Carbon Counter and the Business of Greenhouse Gases

Deutsche Bank's ginormous "Carbon Counter" -- unveiled Thursday in New York City -- is the type of in-your-face campaign passers-by will find nearly impossible to ignore.

The towering electronic billboard -- with its 13-number red digital display and 'Climate Change Affects Everyone' message perched on top -- is more than an ever-growing tally of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

It's also a sign -- and a very large one at that -- of the growing interest and investment surrounding climate change.

DB's interest in the climate change industry is certainly clear. The launch of the carbon counter included the traditional unveiling and more modern modes of communication including live twittering from the DB's knowthenumber Twitter account. Ted Meyer, director of communications at DB - Americas, has been tweeting all day. Tweets will continue, when DB has news to share such as new research reports, said Meyer in an email Thursday.

The carbon counter can even be downloaded for those who want to track greenhouse gases from their computer.

Deutsche Bank is already an investor in technologies aimed at reducing emissions, as noted by WSJ's Environmental Capital blog.

The company's Climate Change Advisors group says it best on its Web site.

"As we look across the global economy, it becomes apparent just how widespread the business opportunities are in the climate change space. Companies and investors are quickly realizing that climate change is not merely a social, political or moral issue -- it is an economic and business issue as well.

The company, as of March 2009, has about $4 billion under management involving climate change. Its assets include renewable energy projects in Europe and as well as a climate change fund that invests in companies involved in clean technology, energy efficiency and environmental management.

The carbon trading market -- for example -- has grown from $727 million in 2004 to $118 billion in 2008, according to a report released last month by SBI. Global carbon markets will grow 68 percent a year to $669 billion in 2013, the market research company forecasted.

And then there all those clean energy jobs.

The number of clean energy jobs in the U.S. grew 9.1 percent -- two and a half times faster than overall jobs -- between 1998 and 2007, according to a recently released Pew Charitable Trusts report. The number of clean energy jobs -- about 770,000 -- is still below the 1.27 million fossil-fuel related jobs, but Pew officials say the clean energy economy is poised for explosive growth.

Photo by Brandon Barrett, courtesy of Deutsche Bank.