Mirova & Robeco lead initiative to develop global database of avoided emissions factors

Asset management company Mirova, international asset manager Robeco, and a group of 11 financial players have launched a call for expressions of interest to develop a global database of avoided emissions factors and associated company-level avoided emissions.  

Specifically, they want to enable: 

• The creation of a globally accessible common database of avoidance factors; and 
• The estimation of emissions avoided by companies over a broad investment universe of listed companies first, resulting from the application of the avoidance factor database on the activity data of the companies concerned. 

The energy transition requires moving away from carbon activities and proposing decarbonised alternatives. Although these are mostly known, no global, quantified data is available to compare them and support the redirection of financial flows to companies enabling decarbonisation. 

Estimates of the investment required to meet global net-zero emissions by 2050 range from US$109 trillion ($163 trillion) to US$275 trillion.  

Much of this investment will involve climate solutions such as renewable power generation, electrified transportation, and green buildings. While investment is needed across the board, the incremental contribution of the investment to the low-carbon transition depends on the location and the type of investment.