By ROSIE MURRAY-WEST, Mail on Sunday, 5 July 2025:
As Britain sweltered in the hottest June on record, businesses and homeowners invested in technology to make our living spaces and offices more comfortable.
The latest figures show only about 5 per cent of British homes have air conditioning, but the number is growing and predicted to rise further.
The UK air conditioning market is expected to grow at 6.3 per cent a year and be worth £1.7billion by 2034.
But it’s not just aircon companies which benefit when our environment heats up – there are other challenges which many of us will pay to solve..
Many of these companies are global, so they aren’t listed on the UK stock market, while others are privately held infrastructure businesses. But you can fill your portfolio with funds which give you exposure to these climate-related businesses in a diversified manner. Here are some of the best to consider.
The leading brands benefiting from an air-conditioning boom include the US businesses Johnson Controls and Carrier..
An alternative is to hold a fund which contains them.
Options include First Trust’s exchange-traded fund (ETF), Nasdaq Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure, which has Johnson Controls as its biggest holding. Another possibility is Impax Environmental Markets, which James Carthew, head of investment company research business QuotedData, describes as being created with climate problems in mind.
The investment trust recently took a stake in Aaon, which makes heating, ventilation and air-conditioning for businesses. Impax is down 1.7 per cent over three years, but those who bought in three months ago are sitting on close to a 7 per cent gain.
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