US and Australian renewable energy firms suffer under government policy

A study from consultants New Energy Finance, has found that US renewable energy companies have suffered a share price fall of 13.8% on average since the beginning of the year. In contrast, the study says, renewable energy companies in countries participating in the Kyoto Protocol, including the EU, Canada and Japan, have seen their share prices rise by an average of 21.9%.

Both the US and Australia rejected Kyoto outright, and while Australia has not been as badly affected as the US it has seen its renewable energy players increase in value by just 4.2%. Both the US and Australia argue that the treaty's failure to impose cuts on developing countries is unfair, and would damage their economic competitiveness. Meanwhile, several Australian renewable energy companies have recently made moves to leave their home market or expand into Europe.

The study tracked the performance of the world's 50 biggest pure renewable energy companies.