Carbon Tracker Initiative recognises that there is a limited global ‘carbon budget’ of cumulative emissions that must be respected to avoid overshooting 2˚C and destabilising the global climate. Its view is that capital markets are failing to align the capital allocation process, exposing the owners of fossil fuel companies – their shareholders – to potential lost value, as has already been witnessed in the EU utilities and US coal mining sectors. It believes that companies have not sufficiently factored in the possibility that future demand could be significantly reduced by technological advances and changing policy. Its role is to help markets understand and quantify these implied risks.

Emissions of greenhouse gases will need to fall severely if we are to avoid catastrophic levels of warming. Such constraints will have profound effects on the supply of and demand for fossil fuels, which account for the largest human source of greenhouse emissions.

The Carbon Tracker Initiative carries out scenario analysis to examine and understand how potential changes to supply and demand will impact the future of fossil fuel-exposed companies and projects. This analysis helps the investment community better understand the financial implications of tackling climate change. Carbon Tracker Initiative provides:

• Analytical research to identify the highest cost, riskiest investments enabling greater scrutiny by analysts, asset owners, investors, policy makers and financial regulators.
• Regulatory research to build the case for reform of the financial regulatory system in order to improve transparency of climate-related financial risks and articulate the key changes to be made.
• Expert insight for those engaging with energy companies around future strategy and capital expenditure.

Research is grounded in conventional financial analysis, and focuses on forward-looking material issues. As a not-for-profit research house, Carbon Tracker Initiative is free from the constraints that would be imposed by a commercial financial research business model.

As a not-for-profit organisation, the work of Carbon Tracker Initiative has been made possible by the vision and openness to innovation through support from philanthropic funding.

Key funding sources include:

• Bloomberg Philanthropies
• Horizon 2020 of the European Union
• Rockerfeller Foundation
• The Joseph Rountree Charitable Trust
• The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
• Zennstrom Philanthropies