ASCOR framework: methodology note

Assessing Sovereign Climate-related Opportunities and Risks (ASCOR) is an investor-led project to develop a free, publicly available, independent tool that assesses countries on climate change. The ASCOR framework is composed of indicators for the transparent assessment of the progress made by countries in managing the low-carbon transition and the impacts of climate change. ASCOR aims to inform, support and facilitate investors’ decision-making on sovereign bonds and enable a more explicit consideration of climate change. The project hopes to facilitate engagement and dialogue between issuers and investors and drive financing for climate change mitigation and adaptation. ASCOR will also enable countries to showcase their improvements on the transition to a low-carbon and resilient future by providing independent and open-source assessments of their targets and policies. In February 2023, ASCOR launched a public consultation on the initial framework. 

The ASCOR framework presented in this methodology note integrates feedback from the consultation. The note first describes the design principles used in developing and iterating the framework. It then presents the full framework of indicators and metrics, alongside an associated assessment methodology.