Paris Misaligned Joint Summary

The report finds that global power sector investment in 2018 was significantly misaligned with Paris Agreement goals, with 29% of new investment (USD 129 billion) flowing into fossil fuels. No major country or region is decarbonizing its power sector at the required pace, and no major investor category is fully aligned with Paris-aligned emissions intensity targets. The authors highlight a critical data gap, noting that asset-level transaction data was available for only 23% of tracked high-emissions power finance due to corporate balance sheet borrowing. To achieve alignment, the report recommends halting new carbon-intensive investments, accelerating the retirement of fossil-fuel plants, and scaling up low-carbon investments through public-private collaboration and improved climate risk reporting.

• In 2018, approximately 29% of new global power investment, totaling USD 129 billion, was directed toward fossil fuel power. This resulted in 109 GW of new capacity and places the world on a temperature trajectory exceeding 3.2°C, which is more than double the Paris Agreement target.
• No major region or country is decarbonizing its power sector fast enough to meet Paris goals. Finance to most regions was 'extremely misaligned' in 2018, with average emissions rates exceeding the IEA's least aggressive Current Policies Scenario. China, India, Japan, and South Africa are noted as particularly worrying due to continued investment in high-emissions power despite their existing emissions-intensive assets.
• No major category of investor is fully aligned with the calculated Paris-aligned emissions intensity targets for power-sector finance. Institutional investors (43% alignment with regional targets) and multilateral development banks (28% alignment) are slightly more on track than other investor types, none of which exceed 20% alignment when aggregated by region.
• Commercial financial institutions are 'Very misaligned' and were the primary source of tracked fossil fuel power investment at USD 13 billion. In 2017/18, commercial banks, export credit agencies, and state-owned banks invested USD 13 billion, USD 9 billion, and USD 5 billion per year, respectively, in fossil fuel power plants.
• There is a significant lack of transparency in high-emissions finance, as asset-level transaction data was available for only 23% of tracked high-emissions power finance in 2018. This is attributed to current disclosure rules that allow firms to finance dirty activities through corporate balance sheet borrowing.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2020). Paris Misaligned Joint Summary. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Paris-Misaligned-Joint-Summary-5.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Paris Misaligned Joint Summary. 2020. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Paris-Misaligned-Joint-Summary-5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Paris Misaligned Joint Summary |date=December 2020 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Paris-Misaligned-Joint-Summary-5.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2020paris, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Paris Misaligned Joint Summary}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Paris-Misaligned-Joint-Summary-5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }