Direct emissions from listed companies in several major Asia Pacific markets rose sharply between 2015 and 2025, according to the COP31 edition of MSCI’s Transition Finance Tracker.
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Aggregate direct emissions from Chinese companies in the study were 66 per cent higher in 2025 than in 2015. Indian companies recorded a 57 per cent increase, followed by Thai companies at 45 per cent – the largest rises among the Asia Pacific markets shown.
The increases come against a broader backdrop of stronger climate pledges, but uneven progress in delivering emissions reductions.
“Most countries have strengthened their climate commitments, and many more companies have set decarbonization targets,” Linda-Eling Lee, Founding Director of MSCI Institute, wrote in the report’s foreword. “Only some countries have policies strong enough to back their pledges, and listed-company emissions have fallen, but largely in developed markets.”
China has committed to cutting net greenhouse gas emissions 7 to 10 per cent from their peak by 2035, alongside plans to expand wind and solar capacity to 3,600 gigawatts. India has pledged to cut the emissions intensity of its economy 47 per cent below 2005 levels by 2035, although this does not require absolute emissions to fall. Thailand brought its net-zero deadline forward to 2050 and pledged to cut net emissions 47 per cent below 2019 levels by 2035, with international support contributing to delivery.
Corporate pledges include Baosteel’s ambition for carbon neutrality by 2050, Tata Steel’s net zero target for 2045 and Siam Cement Group’s goal of net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050.
The chart shows that direct emissions from Chinese, Indian and Thai firms rose 66 per cent, 57 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively, between 2015 and 2025. Image: MSCI
Emissions performance also varied within Asia Pacific. Australian companies’ direct emissions fell 8 per cent over the decade, while those of South Korean companies were broadly unchanged.
The largest declines among the markets shown were recorded by companies domiciled in France and Germany, at 46 per cent and 47 per cent, respectively. UK companies’ emissions dropped 12 per cent and US companies’ emissions fell 21 per cent.
These targets have different measures and deadlines, and some were announced near the study period’s end. Rising emissions therefore do not establish that targets have been missed.
MSCI’s comparison draws on a sample of 2,491 listed companies with emissions data available for every year from 2015 to 2025. The chart highlights the 10 markets with the highest aggregate direct emissions in 2025. The Chinese, Indian and Thai samples comprise 245, 67 and 55 companies, respectively.
The figures measure Scope 1 emissions from company-owned or controlled assets, rather than national emissions or companies’ wider value chain footprints. Companies are grouped by domicile, meaning their emissions may originate from assets operating overseas.
Beyond tracking emissions, MSCI identified technologies that could help reduce them. Its global assessment found that solar and wind are already cost-competitive options for addressing most listed power producers’ and utilities’ operational emissions, while cement and steel face larger cost barriers. Subsidies, tax incentives and carbon pricing could improve the economics of low-carbon technologies and support wider adoption, the report said.
“Policy that scales solutions already competitive and closes remaining cost gaps rewards readiness, and readiness widens what policy can achieve,” Lee wrote.
