“The new Climate Change Performance Index shows signs of a global turnaround in emissions, including declining coal consumption,” said Ursula Hagen, one of the authors of the index jointly presented by Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute and Climate Action Network (CAN).
“However, several large countries are still trying to resist this trend – above all the US. We see opportunities for a halt to rising global emissions – but much will depend on further developments in China and the elections in the USA. Both countries are at cross roads,” Hagen said.

Coal firms could lose as much as 44 per cent in value, while the world’s top oil and gas companies risk losing up to 31 per cent of their current market share, according the report which forecasts oil demand peaking around 2027.

The German insurer analyzed the most important measures currently enacted or under discussion to rein in global warming and found that the energy sector alone will be hit with an additional cost of $900 billion. Further emissions cap reductions or industrial regulations could increase that amount.

“Policies have been successful to varying degrees in deploying low-carbon technologies, such as solar, wind and electric vehicles. But these often add to existing demand for energy rather than displacing technologies that emit CO2, particularly in countries where energy demand is growing,” said study co-author Corinne Le Quere from the University of East Anglia in the UK.

French bank Societe Generale and French insurer AXA said this week they would exit the coal sector by 2030 in OECD countries and by 2040 for the rest the world.

“We would expect management to report on environmental and societal issues to the extent necessary for primary users of financial statements to form their own assessment of the company’s longer-term prospects and management’s stewardship of the business,” IASB board member Nick Anderson said.