Social Sharing
Extended Viewer
Carbon-Footprint Attribution for Total Portfolio
Feb 19, 2025
Understanding what drives a portfolio’s carbon footprint over time is essential for investors managing climate risks and aligning with sustainability goals. Carbon-footprint attribution helps disentangle the effects of real-world decarbonization, investment decisions and financial changes, providing clarity on emission trends.
In this paper, we propose a unified framework for carbon-footprint attribution tailored for all asset classes covered by the MSCI Total Portfolio Footprinting product. Leveraging MSCI’s robust data and multi-asset-class modeling, this approach delivers actionable insights, helping investors set informed targets, conduct scenario analyses and strategically manage their portfolio’s climate impact while complying with evolving regulatory standards.
The drivers of financed emissions — a multi-asset class portfolio example
Download report
Research authors
- Xinxin Wang, Executive Director, MSCI Research
- Zoltán Nagy, Executive Director, MSCI Research
Related content
A Framework for Attributing Changes in Portfolio Carbon Footprint
We present a framework that allows investors to understand to what extent changes in a portfolio’s carbon footprint are due to companies’ real-world decarbonization efforts, a portfolio manager’s investment decisions or changes in companies’ financing.
Learn moreCarbon Footprinting Demystified
Assessing the carbon footprint of a portfolio is the first step in addressing the investment implications of climate change. But in a complex and fast evolving landscape, which are the best metrics and underlying inputs to use?
Read moreTotal Portfolio Footprinting
Measure and report financed emissions of your entire portfolio across asset classes with a solution designed to help you get a clear view of financed emissions across of investments in both public and private markets.
Explore more