Russia's Moscow Exchange to launch climate index for non-financial companies in 2025

MOSCOW. Dec 19 (Interfax) - The Moscow Exchange plans to launch the calculation of a climate index for non-financial companies in H1 2025, the trading platform said.

To select stocks for the new index, the exchange together with the consulting firm CarbonLab has developed a climate resilience rating for real-sector companies. Issuers will be assessed based on 66 indicators grouped into categories, including greenhouse gas emissions and absorption tracking, low-carbon transition risk evaluation, climate adaptation measures and others. The indicators carry different weights, and each issuer will receive a climate resilience rating ranging from the minimum (F) to the maximum (AA). The current concept for the index assumes that stocks rated from D to AA will be included in the index's calculation base.

The climate index may consist of up to 30 stocks from the Moscow Exchange's broad market index calculation base. No single stock will exceed a 15% weight. The free float capitalization of the stocks must be at least 10 billion rubles.

The index calculation base will be formed annually, with quarterly recalculations of the indicator's parameters.

"The new indicator will help investors select stocks for their portfolios from issuers that are actively engaged in the climate agenda and which pay the most attention to their impact on the climate," Moscow Exchange Director of Index Product Development Sergei Golovanov was quoted as saying.