NGFS needs to revise scenarios to avoid climate inaction

The Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) published climate scenarios in June 2020 to help manage financial climate risks. However, analysis by Oil Change International and Reclaim Finance suggests these scenarios have dangerous shortcomings, specifically by prioritizing 2°C targets over 1.5°C and relying on unrealistic levels of carbon capture. These assumptions create a bias in favor of continued fossil fuel production and investment, potentially slowing the global fight against climate change.

• The NGFS scenarios minimize the difference between 1.5°C and 2°C global warming by focusing on 2°C targets and labeling 1.5°C scenarios as "alternative," making them barely visible in the report.
• The scenarios rely on high levels of carbon capture and removal (CDR) that exceed sustainable mitigation potentials and are unlikely to be deployed at scale, raising human rights and sustainability concerns.
• The NGFS's assumptions create a bias toward fossil fuels; in one reference scenario, oil and gas production are only 36% and 23% lower than 'business as usual', coal is burned after 2050, and cumulative fossil fuel investment from 2016 to 2050 decreases by only 24%.

APA

admin (2021). NGFS needs to revise scenarios to avoid climate inaction. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2021/02/15/ngfs-needs-to-revise-scenarios-to-avoid-climate-inaction/

Chicago

admin. NGFS needs to revise scenarios to avoid climate inaction. Reclaim Finance, 2021. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2021/02/15/ngfs-needs-to-revise-scenarios-to-avoid-climate-inaction/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=admin |title=NGFS needs to revise scenarios to avoid climate inaction |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=15 February 2021 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2021/02/15/ngfs-needs-to-revise-scenarios-to-avoid-climate-inaction/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{admin2021ngfs, author = {admin}, title = {{NGFS needs to revise scenarios to avoid climate inaction}}, publisher = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2021/02/15/ngfs-needs-to-revise-scenarios-to-avoid-climate-inaction/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }