Principles for Paris-alignment

Climate change is a systemic threat to the social, economic and financial systems we depend on. A strategic response to systemic climate risk demands that business and investors set and pursue ‘Paris alignment’ or ‘net-zero’ strategies – hundreds of firms are now doing so.

As this new norm develops, business, investors, regulators and legislators must aim to maximise ambitions for reducing real-world greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to minimise the risks of ‘greenwash’.

To ensure that bold ambition is translated into real action, we believe that a principles-based approach, supported by clear, non-negotiable ‘Red lines’ can help strike the required balance between flexibility and credibility. Based on a review of existing methodologies, in this Position Paper, we propose three overarching ‘Paris-alignment principles’ and 10(+1) corresponding ‘Red lines’, that we believe should underpin all ‘Paris-alignment’ or ‘net-zero’ claims, initiatives and legislative interventions.