Morgan Stanley announced today the introduction of a new target to reach net-zero financed emissions by 2050. The company stated that it shares this goal with many of its clients, and has committed to providing financing, expertise and thought leadership to support the transition to a low-carbon world.

Audrey Choi, Chief Sustainability Officer at Morgan Stanley, said:

“Climate change is one of the most complex and interconnected issues of our time. Morgan Stanley believes we have an important role to play in facilitating the transition to a low carbon future, and we are proud to embark on this journey.”

According to Morgan Stanley, one of the key challenges in reaching its new goal is the lack of standardized tools and methodologies around measuring and disclosing financed emissions. The company has recently emerged as a leader in developing these tools for the industry, and promoting the measurement by financials of the climate impact of their businesses, including the announcement earlier this summer that it had joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), as a steering committee member.

Matthew Slovik, Head of Global Sustainable Finance at Morgan Stanley, said:

“Morgan Stanley has been a leader in sustainable finance since we founded our Global Sustainable Finance Group over a decade ago. This is the next major evolution of our efforts as we continue to integrate the potential risks and opportunities of climate change into our core business.”

The PCAF is a global collaboration of 77 financial institutions representing total financial assets of more than $13 trillion, with a mission to develop and implement a harmonized approach to assess and disclose the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with their loans and investments. In August, the PCAF publicly released its new standard for financial institutions to measure and disclose the greenhouse gas emissions impact of investments and loans. In addition to assessing and disclosing emissions data, the introduction of the standard is expected to enable financial institutions to better set climate targets and asses climate transition risks from their activities. The PCAF has opened a public consultation on the new standard, which will run through September 30, 2020, and the final version of the standard is expected to be released in November 2020.