Green investors say transportation pledges hinge on tech advances

Environmentally minded investors praised carbon-cutting pledges by major transportation companies and governments announced at the UN climate summit on Wednesday but said the goals could be pipe dreams without big advances in technologies like vehicle batteries and aviation fuel. "It is an important commitment but it has to be accompanied by the commitment of resources to fund the transition and create products," said Anthony Sassine, senior investment strategist for KraneShares. Its funds include the Electric Vehicles & Future Mobility ETF focused on electric vehicles. For instance, Sassine noted major US carmakers Ford and General Motors do not yet have electric versions of their best-selling pickup trucks on the market. Still, both companies were among those signing on to a raft of pledges at summit in Glasgow, Scotland to slash greenhouse gas emissions from global transportation. Companies agreed to work toward making all new cars and vans zero-emission by 2035 or sooner in leading markets, and to promote the development and use of sustainable aviation fuels, among other things. Marcela Pinilla, director of sustainable investing for Zevin Asset Management, said both areas will require more development. For instance Zevin owns shares of shipper United Parcel Service, whose aircraft would need more access to sustainable fuel currently in limited supply. Rivals like Fedex Corp face similar restrictions, she said, as do airlines. "Packaged transit companies are in the same sustainability conundrum that passenger airlines are in," she said.<br/>