According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 41, India will be among the worst hit countries that may face the consequences of natural calamities affecting the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable and marginalised communities. India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) encourages private sector companies to invest more in the development of innovative and cleaner technologies to mitigate their GHG emission levels. India’s ratification of the Paris Agreement, aimed at limiting the global temperature increase to 2 degrees, also puts a huge responsibility on the private sector to try and bring down its carbon emissions. 

Financial institutions are expected to establish measurable reduction objectives aligned with this target, and disclose a) their share of green house gas emissions of the companies that they finance and b) their share in the companies and projects they are invested in. They are also expected to establish measurable reduction objectives in line with the 2°C limit(and further to 1.5°C) set in the Paris Agreement, for their financed emissions. In alignment with NVGRF’s Principles 3 and 4 this theme takes into account both the financial institutions’ own emissions and those of the companies that they finance.