Merrill to track energy efficient stocks

LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch MER.N said on Monday it had started tracking energy-efficient companies which it considered well-placed to benefit from tough climate change policies.

The launch of such indicies for investors reflects the worry that many companies will be hurt by climate change, such as more extreme weather, or by policies intended to prevent this, such as tough caps on greenhouse gas emissions.

Indicies are meant to identify companies that will be hurt least by or even profit from climate change and such regulations.

"While there has been a clear shift of resources and investor attention into renewable energy, energy efficiency remains an area that is relatively under-explored," said Asari Efiong, an analyst at Merril Lynch.

"We believe that energy efficiency represents a significant market opportunity for investors, as policy changes look set to force a structural shift in demand," she added.

In March JPMorgan (JPM.N) launched an investor service which identified the securities of bond issuers judged to have a lower risk from climate change.

Also in March, ABN AMRO AAH.AS launched an index tracking the performance of listed companies which, for example, provided clean energy, water and waste.

((Reporting by Gerard Wynn, Editing by James Jukwey, gerard.wynn@reuters.com; +44 207 542 2302)) Keywords: MARKETS ENERGY/CLEAN

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