The MSCI Sustainability Institute’s Transition Finance Tracker details progress by companies and investors to navigate the shift to a low-carbon global economy. The quarterly report offers a snapshot of the transition in charts and analysis covering emissions, physical risk, targets, disclosure and financial flows using data from MSCI and others.
The world’s listed and unlisted companies together directly generate nearly one-third (32%) of global greenhouse gas emissions. Nearly two-thirds of listed firms are on warming paths above 2°C, with a global average of 2.7°C (4.86°F) above preindustrial levels.
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Cities face surge in extreme heat
Urban centers, especially mid-exposure cities like Los Angeles, New York, São Paulo, London, Paris and Melbourne, will see more days of dangerous heat in a world that warms 3°C (5.4°F) above preindustrial levels by 2050. These changes signal rising climate adaptation costs.
Additional days of extreme heat (average % change by 2050, based on 3°C warming)
Source: MSCI ESG Research, data as of June 30, 2025, using MSCI GeoSpatial Asset Intelligence, based on ”Current Policies” scenario developed by the Network for Greening the Financial System.
Corporate ambition rising
The share of listed companies with a climate target validated by the Science Based Targets initiative rose to 18.5% as of June 30, 2025, up 6.2 percentage points from a year earlier. Broader target-setting has plateaued. Fifty-eight percent of companies now have some form of climate pledge.
Share of listed companies with climate targets for 2025 and beyond by target type (%)
Source: MSCI ESG Research, data as of June 30, 2025. Note that totals are cumulative. The share of corporate climate targets reported here reflects the relevant share of all companies in the MSCI ACWI IMI. Previous editions of this report show targets for roughly 95% of index constituents, hence the different shares of climate targets reported here.
Big economies off track
Major emitters, like China (3.8°C) and the U.S. (2.9°C), are misaligned with globally agreed upon targets, according to MSCI’s Sovereign Implied Temperature Rise metric. Australia and Canada also lag. National 2035 targets due this September may help investors sharpen their view of sovereign transition risk.
Projected temperature alignment of G20 countries (Implied Temperature Rise in °C)
Source: MSCI ESG Research, data as of June 30, 2025.
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Corporate targets matter
The GHG emissions of companies with net-zero targets grew more slowly over five years ending in 2023 compared to companies with no targets, at +0.2% versus +4.3% among those without such targets. Companies whose net-zero targets were approved by the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi) fell by a median of 0.5% per year.
Company Scope 1 emissions performance, by climate commitment type (median annualized change in absolute Scope 1 emissions, 2018-2023)
Source: MSCI ESG Research, data as of June 30, 2025.
Carbon credit flows highlight role of voluntary markets
With finance for adaptation and harmonization of carbon markets both expected to be among objectives for the U.N. COP30 climate summit in Brazil, the report shows the flow of private-sector climate finance via the voluntary carbon market. Companies in France, the U.S., and Germany purchased more than half of nature-based carbon credits from Brazil in 2024.
Global destination of Brazilian nature-based credits used by corporates
Source: MSCI Carbon Markets, data as of June 30, 2025.