New guidebook provides practical guidance for Indian financial institutions to evaluate climate transition risks and opportunities in hard-to-abate sectors such as steel.
MUMBAI, India, Feb. 26, 2026 -- Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), and Bank of Baroda today launched An Introduction to Corporate Transition Assessments, a guide to assessing the transition risks and opportunities of companies, a new guidebook providing Indian financial institutions with a structured methodology to evaluate the transition readiness of corporate clients in emissions-intensive industries. The guidebook was launched at Bank of Baroda's headquarters in Mumbai.
As India progresses toward its 2070 net-zero target and export markets implement stricter emissions thresholds, companies in hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, cement, and chemicals will face stronger decarbonisation pressures. These may expose them to significant transition risks and impact their creditworthiness and success of their businesses. Many Indian banks are developing internal approaches to assess how individual clients are positioned for this shift.
"Corporate Transition Assessments offer a powerful lens for banks to make more informed credit decisions and position themselves as transition partners to their clients," said Mr. Ravindra Singh Negi, Group Chief Risk Officer, Bank of Baroda. "We are proud to partner with RMI and CPI on this important work and look forward to applying these insights to strengthen our own climate risk management capabilities."
"India's hard-to-abate sectors will define the pace and credibility of our national decarbonisation journey," said Akshima Ghate, Managing Director, RMI. "Banks financing these sectors require historical as well as forward-looking assessments. These assessments should highlight clients' exposure to transition drivers and evaluate if their strategies are resilient enough to handle the upcoming changes ahead."
The guidebook introduces a Corporate Transition Assessment (CTA) framework built around three dimensions: i) Strategy and Ambition, which examines a company's transition exposure and decarbonisation plans; ii) Feasibility, which evaluates investment pipelines and techno-economic dependencies; and iii) Accountability, which assesses governance and transparency mechanisms. The framework is designed to generate action-oriented insights for risk management and investment assessment.
"What distinguishes this framework is its emphasis on asset-level analysis, forward-looking investment alignment, and dependency mapping," said Vivek Sen, India Director, Climate Policy Initiative. "Unlike other approaches that rely primarily on publicly disclosed transition plans, the CTA methodology enables banks to build a bottom-up understanding of client readiness even where formal plans do not exist, which is the reality for most Indian corporates today."
The guidebook includes a detailed case study applying the CTA framework for the Indian steel sector, demonstrating how banks can surface real-world insights on transition vulnerability, strategy gaps, and financing opportunities. It also provides sector-specific guidance on decarbonisation levers and their techno-economic feasibility.
The guidebook is available for download.
About RMI
Rocky Mountain Institute, or RMI, is an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit founded in 1982 that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to secure a prosperous, resilient, clean energy future for all. In collaboration with businesses, policymakers, funders, communities, and other partners, RMI drives investment to scale clean energy solutions, reduce energy waste, and boost access to affordable clean energy to enhance security, economics, and improve people's livelihoods. RMI is active in over 50 countries. RMI has been supporting India's mobility and energy transformation since 2016.
About Climate Policy Initiative
Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) is an analysis and advisory organization with deep expertise in finance and policy. Our mission is to support governments, businesses, banks, and financial institutions to drive economic growth while addressing climate change. CPI has offices in Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
CPI India Private Limited works to support India's clean energy mission directed by its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) through clean energy market catalyzing initiatives, such as India Clean Energy Finance (ICEF), the India Distributed Solar Finance initiative (IDSF), and The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (India Chapter); capacity building initiatives, such as the Center for Sustainable Finance (CSF) and Green Indian Financial System (GIFS); and carries out analytical work for transitioning towards a sustainable energy future, such as futureproofing strategies for PSUs. CPI also supports efforts in adaptation with a focus on financing adaptation in India, sustainable finance flows to agriculture, and nature-based solutions.
Media Contact:
Prabal Muttoo
pmuttoo@rmi.org
Saumya Tiwari
Saumya.tiwari@cpiglobal.org
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