BERLIN (AP) — The United Nations is applauding the launch of a financial tool to track companies' efforts to prepare for climate change.

Thirteen funds and five firms managing over 2 trillion pounds ($2.4 trillion) launched the online tool at the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Called the Transition Pathway Initiative , it allows asset managers to check what companies have done to prepare for a low-carbon economy.

Burning fossil fuels, which releases carbon into the atmosphere, is considered one of the main drivers of man-made climate change.

U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa said the new tool could help ensure financial investments support efforts to limit and prepare for climate change.

A G-20-led task force recommended last month that companies should provide investors with more information about the risks companies face from global warming.