Climate Change Disclosure: An Empirical Study On The Oil & Gas Companies Listed on Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)

Abstract

This research investigates the current state of disclosure on the climate change issues of the oil & gas companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Using a sample of 58 companies, I conduct a content analysis of their publicly available documents and develop a disclosure index. The study demonstrates that there is a significant association between the level of disclosure of climate change issues (disclosures index) and the board of director’s effectiveness (measured by Board Shareholder Confidence Index) for Canadian oil & gas companies. This study also explores the association between firms’ value and the level of climate change disclosure. The empirical evidence indicates that the investors take the extent of disclosures on climate changes into considerations when they assess the market value of the firms. This study contributes to environmental accounting literature because it examines the relationship between climate change disclosures and corporate governance. From a practical point of view, the outcome of this analysis will help Canadian Securities Administrator (CSA) to have insight into climate change disclosures practices and provides a frame of references for developing related disclosures requirement.