Is 1.6°C the new 1.5°C?

The COP28 climate conference will emphasize the need for ambitious action by governments and the private sector to stave off the worst impacts of global heating. Investors and other capital-markets participants have a critical role to play in spurring companies to eliminate greenhouse gases. The Institute is teaming up with collaborators on a series of initiatives designed to help achieve that aim.

The share of listed companies that have published a decarbonization target has increased to 48%, as of May 31, 2023, up from 27% three years ago.1“The MSCI Net-Zero Tracker, July 2023 update.” MSCI ESG Research, July 2023. Still, listed companies are on track to warm the planet 2.5°C above preindustrial levels this century.2See note 1

{ "chart1":{ "Communication Services":[50,46,70,109,82,17,10,6,3,9,4,0,1,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1], "Consumer Discretionary":[30,20,53,67,75,93,59,68,54,82,56,35,34,39,36,23,12,14,18,18,8,7,11,11,8,6,8,1,6,3,0,5,5,4,3,2,2,2,4,1,4,3,3,3,1,5,2,8,4,6,3,2,3,2,6,6,4,14,2,2,2,1,0,0,0,2,1,0,0,1,2,0,0,1,0,1,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,6], "Consumer Staples":[18,17,19,52,54,31,22,22,25,16,15,19,22,31,18,24,13,14,10,10,15,9,10,15,8,5,5,10,6,8,3,4,9,4,4,2,3,3,0,0,0,0,2,2,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1], "Energy":[5,3,7,11,5,7,6,7,4,8,6,3,3,3,2,4,2,0,6,2,4,5,4,3,5,3,0,7,2,5,2,3,6,2,3,1,4,5,1,4,0,3,5,3,4,4,1,3,1,2,2,4,1,3,4,4,3,2,2,4,1,2,1,1,2,0,1,0,3,1,3,5,3,1,3,2,2,0,0,1,2,0,2,1,0,0,0,80], "Financials":[115,222,296,113,80,64,54,25,27,21,14,20,8,6,2,0,4,6,3,5,2,2,2,2,2,4,3,2,2,2,1,1,2,2,2,3,0,1,1,2,4,1,1,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,1,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,3], "Health Care":[38,51,75,122,158,112,62,56,38,24,14,6,20,4,5,8,6,6,7,2,1,6,5,4,5,5,2,9,3,2,5,1,1,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,1,1,0,1,1,0,0,1,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,7], "Industrials":[61,45,89,88,83,83,86,93,102,84,53,60,40,37,41,26,31,37,29,34,24,15,17,17,24,10,15,12,17,9,3,4,5,3,7,2,5,3,5,1,2,3,4,3,2,2,2,4,2,4,1,1,4,1,3,2,2,2,1,0,1,1,1,0,0,1,2,2,1,0,0,1,1,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,45], "Information Technology":[62,168,188,61,41,35,41,68,41,71,75,42,40,29,20,15,9,13,11,3,6,7,4,5,9,2,2,5,3,3,3,0,2,1,0,0,1,1,0,1,0,1,1,0,0,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1], "Materials":[9,10,17,15,16,10,24,16,22,26,20,13,21,34,42,33,30,34,22,29,23,20,12,15,21,14,24,22,15,11,13,12,11,14,9,9,13,7,8,5,5,11,3,2,4,4,3,2,3,3,3,6,1,1,0,2,0,1,2,2,3,1,1,3,1,2,3,1,1,2,3,3,1,2,1,0,2,2,1,2,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,38], "Real Estate":[29,21,36,75,109,93,75,62,47,31,16,12,7,7,4,1,2,1,1,0,1,0,1,2,0,0,3,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0], "Utilities":[9,12,10,7,12,18,18,11,15,10,10,7,9,7,5,4,4,9,6,3,4,6,7,3,4,2,8,1,2,2,0,6,3,1,1,1,0,1,1,3,0,0,2,1,3,0,0,0,1,0,0,1,1,0,0,1,1,3,2,2,1,0,1,0,2,0,0,1,1,2,0,2,3,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,2,2,0,0,0,11] }, "companies": { "Communication Services":[["Alphabet Inc","Meta Platforms Inc","Tencent Holdings Ltd","Comcast Corporation","Verizon Communications Inc."],["Netflix Inc","Walt Disney Co","AT&T Inc.","Activision Blizzard Inc","Charter Communications Inc"],["Nintendo Co., Ltd","Universal Music Group NV","JYP Entertainment Corp","Axiata Group Bhd","Mobile Telecommunications Co Su Arb SJSC"],["Intouch Holdings PCL","","","",""]], "Consumer Discretionary":[["LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE","McDonald's Corp","Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - ADR","Nike Inc","Sony Group Corp"],["Amazon.com, Inc.","Tesla Inc","Home Depot Inc","Lowe's Companies Inc","Starbucks Corp"],["TJX Companies Inc","Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA","Meituan","Hermes International SCA","Mercedes Benz Group AG"],["Toyota Motor Corp","O'Reilly Automotive Inc","Autozone Inc","Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc","Aptiv PLC"]], "Consumer Staples":[["Procter & Gamble Co","Philip Morris International Inc.","Unilever plc","L'Oreal SA","Diageo plc"],["Nestle SA","PepsiCo, Inc.","Walmart Inc","Estee Lauder Companies Inc","Danone SA"],["Coca-Cola Co","Costco Wholesale Corporation","Mondelez International Inc","General Mills Inc","Monster Beverage Corp"],["Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc","Kraft Heinz Co","Lamb Weston Holdings Inc","Bunge Ltd","China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited"]], "Energy":[["SK Innovation Co Ltd","Gaztransport et Technigaz SA","TGS ASA","Liberty Energy Inc","Nextier Oilfield Solutions Inc"],["Shell PLC","TotalEnergies SE","Schlumberger NV","Eni SpA","Baker Hughes Co"],["Reliance Industries Ltd","Targa Resources Corp","PTT Public Company Limited","OMV AG","Southwestern Energy Co"],["Exxon Mobil Corp","Chevron Corporation","ConocoPhillips","BP plc","Enbridge Inc"]], "Financials":[["Bank of America Corp","Wells Fargo & Co","HSBC Holdings plc","Royal Bank of Canada","S&P Global Inc"],["JPMorgan Chase & Co","AIA Group Ltd","Morgan Stanley","UBS Group AG","ICICI Bank Ltd"],["Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc","BNP Paribas SA","China Construction Bank Corporation","Bank of Nova Scotia","Bank of Montreal"],["Brookfield Corp","Lloyds Banking Group PLC","Industrial and Commrcl Bank of China Ltd","Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB","Mega Financial Holding Co Ltd"]], "Health Care":[["UnitedHealth Group Inc","Merck & Co Inc","Novo Nordisk A/S","AstraZeneca plc","Pfizer Inc."],["Johnson & Johnson","Eli Lilly And Co","AbbVie Inc","Roche Holding AG","Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc"],["Abbott Laboratories","Medtronic PLC","Stryker Corp","Becton Dickinson and Co","HOYA CORPORATION"],["Intuitive Surgical, Inc.","DexCom, Inc.","Resmed Inc","Insulet Corporation","Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporatn Ltd"]], "Industrials":[["Siemens AG","Schneider Electric SE","Uber Technologies Inc","Emerson Electric Co","Deutsche Post AG"],["Rtx Corp","United Parcel Service, Inc.","Airbus SE","Waste Management, Inc.","CSX Corporation"],["Union Pacific Corp","Deere & Company","Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd","Canadian National Railway Company","ABB Ltd (ADR)"],["Honeywell International Inc","Boeing Co","General Electric Co","Caterpillar Inc.","Lockheed Martin Corp"]], "Information Technology":[["Apple Inc","Microsoft Corp","Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturng Co Ltd","Visa Inc","Mastercard Inc"],["Broadcom Inc","Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.","KEYENCE CORPORATION","Analog Devices, Inc.","Synopsys Inc"],["NVIDIA Corp","ASML Holding NV","Samsung Electronics Co Ltd","Texas Instruments Inc","Intel Corporation"],["Applied Materials, Inc.","BE Semiconductor Industries NV","Universal Display Corporation","Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd","Fabrinet"]], "Materials":[["Ecolab Inc","Newmont Corporation","Dsm BV","Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co","FMC Corp"],["Glencore PLC","Dow Inc","Holcim AG","Nucor Corporation","Vulcan Materials Company"],["L'Air Liqud Soct Ae pr l'Edeetl'EndsPsGe","Sherwin-Williams Co","Freeport-McMoRan Inc","Sika AG","Corteva Inc"],["BHP Group Ltd","Rio Tinto plc","Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.","Shin-Etsu Chemical Co Ltd","Vale SA"]], "Real Estate":[["Prologis Inc","American Tower Corp","Crown Castle Inc","SBA Communications Corp","Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd"],["Equinix Inc","Public Storage","Realty Income Corp","Simon Property Group Inc","VICI Properties Inc"],["CBRE Group Inc","Ke Holdings Inc","Wharf Real Estate Investment Company Ltd","Americold Realty Trust Inc","Capitaland Investment Ltd"],["Zillow Group Inc","Rayonier Inc","Potlatchdeltic Corp","Corporate Office Properties Trust","Re/Max Holdings Inc"]], "Utilities":[["Iberdrola SA","Enel SpA","Edison International","SSE PLC","Entergy Corp"],["Duke Energy Corp","National Grid plc","American Electric Power Company Inc","Dominion Energy Inc","American Water Works Company Inc"],["NextEra Energy Inc","Southern Co","Consolidated Edison, Inc.","WEC Energy Group Inc","Constellation Energy Corp"],["Sempra","Exelon Corp","Xcel Energy Inc","Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.","PG&E Corporation"]] } }

The ambition gap: One-fifth (22%) of listed companies align with a 1.5°C pathway

Select a sector


*Estimate is based on MSCI's Implied Temperature Rise metric, which estimates the rise in average global temperatures if the whole economy had the same carbon-budget overshoot or undershoot as the company or portfolio in question.

Source: MSCI ESG Research, data as of May 31, 2023.