Standards & schemes
Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials
In brief
The PCAF Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard is the financial industry's rulebook for financed emissions — the emissions attributable to banks', investors' and insurers' portfolios. Part A (second edition) covers listed and unlisted equity, bonds, loans, project finance, mortgages, real estate, motor-vehicle loans and other asset classes, with defined attribution formulas and data-quality scoring; later parts extend to emissions removals and insurance-associated emissions. PCAF methodology feeds directly into financial-institution net-zero commitments and regulatory climate disclosure, including NZBA and GFANZ reporting. Its data-quality hierarchy — moving institutions from estimated to reported to verified counterparty data — is central to interpreting financed-emissions figures. Membership requires public commitment and annual disclosure, and the published data-quality score scale (1 = verified counterparty data, 5 = broad estimates) lets readers see how much of a reported figure is measured versus modelled. National and regional PCAF groups adapt application while keeping the global standard common. Using this framework does not by itself verify data accuracy, legal compliance or sustainability performance.
Conditional relationships
A relationship does not mean that the standard proves or validates every use of a claim.
Recognition & legal context
No reviewed law references are published.
Have evidence, context or a correction?
Suggest a correction