About Carbon Tracker

Carbon Tracker is an independent financial think tank providing analysis of the financial risks and opportunities arising from the global energy transition.

Investment decisions rely on assumptions about future energy demand, technology costs and policy. When those assumptions fail to reflect the pace of the transition, risks may be mispriced, capital misallocated, and exposure to stranded assets underestimated. As markets, technologies and policies evolve at speed, reassessing those assumptions becomes critical.

Our research helps investors, policymakers and financial institutions test assumptions, assess transition risk and make more informed investment, stewardship and policy decisions in support of a Paris-aligned and nature-positive transition.

What we do

Assessing company and sector exposure

We analyse how changes in demand, costs, technology and policy affect high-carbon companies and sectors, and what this means for corporate strategy, resilience, risk and return.

Modelling the cost of delayed transition

We use scenario analysis to assess how delayed or insufficient transition can affect asset values and increase risks across the wider economy, helping investors and policymakers evaluate exposure under different pathways.

Improving market transparency

We examine whether transition-related risks are reflected in disclosure, reporting and audit, and provide evidence to strengthen market standards and regulatory oversight.

Our research spans core sectors on both the energy supply and energy demand – from oil & gas and power & utilities to automotive and industrials – as well as cross-cutting topics such as capital allocation, asset retirement obligations, accounting, audit & disclosure, policy and regulation.

Independent analysis, transparent methods

Carbon Tracker operates independently. We publish our sources, assumptions, methods and limitations so users can scrutinise our findings and draw their own conclusions. 

  • Open data and transparent modelling

  • Evidence-based financial analysis

  • Independent of industry or political interests

Explore our data and methods

Our history & impact

Founded in 2011 by Mark Campanale and Nick Robins, Carbon Tracker pioneered the concept of the “carbon bubble”, the idea that a large share of fossil fuel reserves exceeds the remaining carbon budget for a well below 2°C pathway and could become stranded as the world moves to limit climate change. This work introduced concepts such as “unburnable carbon” and “stranded assets,” helping bring climate-related financial risk into mainstream investment, stewardship and policy discussions. 

Today, Carbon Tracker’s research continues to shape thinking on corporate resilience, market transparency and the financial consequences of delayed transition. See our latest impact report [Link to latest impact report]

Carbon Tracker operates as part of Tracker Group alongside Planet Tracker. The Group seeks to harness the synergies between Carbon Tracker’s climate-focused research and Planet Tracker’s nature-focused research to deepen understanding of the environmental risks facing financial markets.

"Carbon Tracker is an important partner of GFANZ on our advisory board; it has done remarkable work. In fact, a lot of what we are talking about is gaps between targets and performance. In many respects, Carbon Tracker pioneered analysis around that, so it is hugely valuable."

Mark Carney, Co-Chair, GFANZ UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance

"Carbon Tracker spawned a financial concept powerful enough to rivet central bankers, anger oil moguls and fuel a grassroots movement to get investors to dump their fossil fuel holdings."

Reuters, 2015

"Carbon Tracker has changed the financial language of climate change."

The Guardian, 2014

"Carbon Tracker has triggered the Climate Swerve – a major historical change in consciousness that is neither predictable nor orderly."

New York Times, 2014

"Governments have agreed to limit global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius. Governments have also agreed to put in place the pathways to deliver this with a new and universal agreement in Paris towards the end of 2015. In order to reach this goal, large amounts of coal and oil will have to stay in the ground, unburnt. Carbon Tracker’s new [oil and coal cost] ‘Curves’ report indicates where in respect to the oil industry some of those stranded assets and some of those red lines will lie."

Christiana Figures, convenor Mission 2020 and former UNFCCC Secretary General

"Carbon Tracker’s simple narrative neatly summed up climate risk exposure for investors that helped Axa to frame the issues and to begin to methodically quantify and mitigate that growing risk. The compelling “stranded assets” narrative resonated amongst our senior management teams – helping us to focus on and cut through a mountain of complex research on the subject – directly influencing our decision to divest from coal in Q2 2015."

Sylvain Vanston, Head of ESG Integration, AXA, 2017

Team

We are a diverse team bringing together expertise in financial analysis, energy markets, climate risk, policy, data, communications and engagement to support better decision-making across the energy transition.

Meet the team

Careers

Work with us to support better decision-making on climate, nature and capital markets.

View vacancies

Partners

The work of Carbon Tracker has been made possible by the vision and openness to innovation shown by organisations such as the following:

Energy Transition Advisers ETA Logo Green Finance Platform Logo Inevitable Policy Response Logo Powering PastCoal Alliance Logo Reuters Events Logo

Funders

The work of Carbon Tracker has been made possible by the vision and openness to innovation shown by organisations such as the following:

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