How do climate risks affect corporate ESG performance? Micro evidence from China

IF 6.3 2区经济学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

Research in International Business and Finance Pub Date : 2025-03-04 DOI:10.1016/j.ribaf.2025.102855

Yang Liu , Kangyin Dong , Rabindra Nepal , Hatem Afi

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

With the increasing exposure of firms to climate-related risks, understanding the relationship between climate risk concerns and corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance is critical. This study investigates the impact of climate risk concerns on ESG performance, with a particular focus on the mediating roles of green technological innovation and corporate governance, as well as the moderating effect of financial constraints. Using a firm-year fixed effects model and panel data from 2293 A-share listed companies in China from 2010 to 2021, our research indicates that heightened climate risk concerns significantly improve firms’ ESG performance. This effect is more pronounced for state-owned enterprises, firms in highly polluting industries, and companies located in the Midwest region. This study also reveals that green technological innovation and corporate governance act as key transmission channels, while financial constraints amplify the positive impact. These findings highlight the necessity of integrating climate risk considerations into corporate decision-making and suggest that targeted policies, such as financial incentives for green innovation and stricter governance frameworks, could further enhance firms’ ESG outcomes.

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来源期刊

Research in International Business and Finance BUSINESS, FINANCE-

CiteScore

11.20

自引率

9.20%

发文量

240

期刊介绍： Research in International Business and Finance (RIBAF) seeks to consolidate its position as a premier scholarly vehicle of academic finance. The Journal publishes high quality, insightful, well-written papers that explore current and new issues in international finance. Papers that foster dialogue, innovation, and intellectual risk-taking in financial studies; as well as shed light on the interaction between finance and broader societal concerns are particularly appreciated. The Journal welcomes submissions that seek to expand the boundaries of academic finance and otherwise challenge the discipline. Papers studying finance using a variety of methodologies; as well as interdisciplinary studies will be considered for publication. Papers that examine topical issues using extensive international data sets are welcome. Single-country studies can also be considered for publication provided that they develop novel methodological and theoretical approaches or fall within the Journal''s priority themes. It is especially important that single-country studies communicate to the reader why the particular chosen country is especially relevant to the issue being investigated. [...] The scope of topics that are most interesting to RIBAF readers include the following: -Financial markets and institutions -Financial practices and sustainability -The impact of national culture on finance -The impact of formal and informal institutions on finance -Privatizations, public financing, and nonprofit issues in finance -Interdisciplinary financial studies -Finance and international development -International financial crises and regulation -Financialization studies -International financial integration and architecture -Behavioral aspects in finance -Consumer finance -Methodologies and conceptualization issues related to finance