Alice Evatt, Stuart Jenkins, Alan Haywood, Tom Nelson, Charlotte Dyvik Henke, Helena Fazeli, Myles Allen, Cameron Hepburn

Evatt, A. Jenkins, S. Haywood, A. Nelson, T. Dyvik Henke, C. Fazeli, H. Allen, M. Hepburn, C. Oxford Martin Principles for Climate Conscious Investing (2nd Edition). 2026. Oxford: Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.

The purpose of the Oxford Martin Principles for Climate-Conscious Investment remains unchanged: to inform investment and engagement decisions that support the transition to global net zero emissions.

The Principles are intended to guide investors to generate returns in a way that is consistent with avoiding the worst impacts of climate change and that does not place the burden of mitigation onto future generations.

Since the Principles were first published in 2018, the landscape of climate-related standards, disclosures, and transition-planning frameworks has expanded significantly.

At the same time, increasing attention has shifted from corporate ambition alone toward credibility, implementation, and delivery. Recent years have also seen increased emphasis on energy security, affordability, and industrial competitiveness. These priorities do not remove the need for decarbonisation. Rather, credible transition pathways must increasingly navigate all three simultaneously.

The Oxford Martin Principles provide a concise and practical framework for assessing the baseline credibility of corporate transition strategies.

The Principles are deliberately high level. They do not prescribe technologies, endorse specific pathways, or replace detailed standards and methodologies. They remain agnostic regarding which technologies prevail or the relative balance between emissions reduction, removal, or displacement, provided lasting and verifiable reductions in net emissions are achieved.

The Principles identify a minimum set of conditions that any credible transition strategy should satisfy. In this sense, they sit alongside technical standards.

This second edition reflects developments in climate science, transition planning, energy systems, and corporate governance since 2018, while retaining the original structure and purpose of the Principles.