We assessed the carbon-emission commitments set by U.S.-based constituents of the MSCI World Index by analyzing their reduction targets, classifying them as long term, short term and none at all. Should these companies choose to reduce or abandon their climate change commitments, what would happen to the global emissions trajectory?

The regulatory environment around international tax avoidance continues to evolve at a rapid pace since our analysis in May 2015 on the tax gap of companies in the MSCI World Index. In our updated analysis, we identified 531 companies (out of 2,160 relevant companies) in the MSCI ACWI Index as of November 1, 2016, as having a large tax gap, paying an average rate of 14.3% versus the 31.8% that would be expected based on the jurisdictions where they generated revenue. Were the entire gap to be...