By the end of 2019, financial institutions representing $17.2 trillion had committed to align their investment portfolios with the decarbonization goals of the Paris Agreement. The scale of ambition is exciting, but the question remains: How can banks and other financial institutions meet these climate alignment objectives?

This brief offers key insights for financial institutions who are considering or are have already begun to align the emissions impacts of investment portfolios and activities with global decarbonization targets. The brief outlines five common barriers that institutions face when attempting to achieve climate alignment, and details how a sector-by-sector approach to alignment can provide an efficient, pragmatic, and effective way forward.