The Transition Acceleration Framework (TAF) is a forward-looking analytical framework developed by Rhodium Group in partnership with CalSTRS and Generate Capital. It is designed to evaluate where climate investment, policy, and procurement will accelerate decarbonisation beyond the trajectory the world is already on. The framework addresses a gap in existing tools, which treat all climate-aligned investments as equivalent regardless of their real-world incremental impact.

Organisation behind the tool
TAF was developed by Rhodium Group, an independent research firm, in partnership with CalSTRS (California State Teachers’ Retirement System) and Generate Capital. The methodology is publicly documented and grounded in Rhodium’s independent energy-system modelling.

What the tool does
TAF provides two core metrics for evaluating climate investment impact. Transition Potential measures the gap between a Baseline scenario (reflecting current policies and cost trends) and a Potential scenario consistent with deep decarbonisation, indicating where additional effort matters most. Transition Efficiency measures incremental emissions reductions delivered per dollar of investment required, normalised across technologies and regions. Together, these metrics place every covered technology on a unified Technology Factor scale from decelerating to accelerating. Projects are also assessed across five acceleration attributes — cost reduction, capital availability, new-market creation, infrastructure and supply chains, and political economy — to capture how investments drive learning, de-risk business models, and shape markets. The framework is built on Rhodium’s Climate Outlook modelling architecture, using 4,950 Monte Carlo samples per run and updated annually.

Target audience
TAF is designed for investors and asset owners with climate mandates, corporates with significant procurement needs and climate goals, policymakers allocating public investment and regulatory action, and philanthropic organisations deploying concessionary capital. It is positioned for serious practitioners seeking to integrate the framework into investment, procurement, and policy decision-making.

Relevance to finance professionals
TAF enables investors to distinguish climate investments that genuinely accelerate the energy transition from those that merely participate in it. It supports ESG integration by providing independent, forward-looking metrics rather than backward-looking reporting frameworks. The tool is applicable to impact measurement, capital allocation decisions, procurement strategy, and evaluating the capital efficiency of different decarbonisation pathways across sectors including power, transport, industry, buildings, and agriculture.