2026 Private Equity Climate Risks Scorecard

The 2026 Private Equity Climate Risks Scorecard reveals that 20 private equity firms, managing $7.3 trillion in assets, back 244 energy companies operating over 1,050 fossil fuel assets. These portfolios generate approximately 1.5 gigatons of annual greenhouse gas emissions, a volume that exceeds the emissions of the international shipping and aviation industries and ranks fifth globally, behind China, the U.S., India, and Russia. The report highlights that these firms own 15,000 miles of pipelines and 124GW of capacity across 324 fossil fuel plants. Furthermore, an analysis of dedicated oil and gas private equity funds active since 2001 indicates poor financial performance, with inflation-adjusted returns being negative on average. The document concludes that most of the studied firms have made limited progress in aligning their portfolios with climate standards to mitigate climate and financial risks.

• Twenty private equity firms managing a combined $7.3 trillion in assets under management support at least 244 energy companies that operate more than 1,050 fossil fuel assets globally.
• The annual greenhouse gas emissions from these private equity portfolios are estimated at 1.5 gigatons, which is higher than the annual emissions of the aviation and international shipping industries and ranks fifth globally, following China, the U.S., India, and Russia.
• The asset holdings of these firms include 15,000 miles of pipelines and 324 fossil fuel plants with 124GW of capacity, including a variety of upstream, midstream, and downstream assets such as LNG terminals and coal-fired plants.
• Analysis of dedicated oil and gas private equity funds active since 2001 shows that these investments have provided poor value, with the median fund returning only 2% more than contributions and average inflation-adjusted returns being negative.
• Most of the 20 firms analyzed in the scorecard have demonstrated limited progress in aligning their portfolios to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

APA

Parr, M. (2026). 2026 Private Equity Climate Risks Scorecard. Private Equity Stakeholder Project. https://www.peclimaterisks.org/2026-scorecard/

Chicago

Parr, Matt. 2026 Private Equity Climate Risks Scorecard. Private Equity Stakeholder Project, 2026. https://www.peclimaterisks.org/2026-scorecard/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Parr |first1=Matt |title=2026 Private Equity Climate Risks Scorecard |publisher=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |date=13 September 2026 |url=https://www.peclimaterisks.org/2026-scorecard/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{parr20262026, author = {Parr, Matt}, title = {{2026 Private Equity Climate Risks Scorecard}}, institution = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2026}, month = sep, url = {https://www.peclimaterisks.org/2026-scorecard/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }