Research On The Capital Market Driving Effect Of Corporate Energy Conservation And Emissions Reduction

In the face of the intensifying severity of climate change,the concepts of "green" and "low-carbon" have emerged as pressing issues of international interest.Enterprises,functioning not only as micro production units propelling economic development but also as crucial sources of greenhouse gas emissions,are central to addressing the critical challenge of voluntarily assuming environmental responsibility and curbing carbon emissions.The preponderance of extant scholarly works substantiates that exemplary corporate carbon performance can elicit favorable capital market outcomes,such as elevated stock valuations and diminished capital costs.Consequently,it is meritorious to investigate the capacity of such positive information feedback to impel firms to bolster their investments in energy conservation and emissions reduction,thereby amplifying the advantageous market ramifications of carbon performance.Building upon an exhaustive analysis of existing literature,this paper develops a comprehensive evaluation index system for corporate carbon performance,incorporating four dimensions: carbon management,carbon efficiency,carbon incentives,and carbon innovation.We utilize this system to assess the carbon performance of selected enterprises.Grounded in social responsibility theory,stakeholder theory,signaling theory,and sustainable development theory,we formulate pertinent research hypotheses and construct a multiple linear regression test model.Carbon related information is manually gathered from the annual reports,Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR)reports and sustainability reports of listed firms in the heavily polluted industry of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares for the period between2013 and 2020,culminating in a sample of 244 companies and a total of 1,464 observations.Regression analysis is performed using STATA 16 software.Our findings reveal a substantial positive correlation between an enterprise’s baseline carbon performance and its subsequent investments in energy conservation and emissions reduction.This suggests that enterprises with commendable carbon performance concentrate on long-term development,aligning with the green and low-carbon sustainable development concept,and consistently invest in energy conservation and emissions reduction in subsequent periods.Additionally,there exists a significant positive correlation between an enterprise’s carbon performance and the proxy variable of the capital market effect,specifically the stock price-to-earnings(P/E)ratio.This implies that enhancing carbon performance can establish a competitive edge for enterprises and yield favorable capital market effects.The stock P/E ratio,as a proxy variable for the capital market effect,serves as a mediator between an enterprise’s baseline carbon performance and its subsequent investments in energy conservation and emissions reduction,corroborating that the beneficial capital market effect of carbon performance can activate the motivation mechanism for energy conservation and emissions reduction within enterprises,and enterprises tend to increased investments in these domains.This substantiates the capital market’s driving mechanism and impact on energy conservation and emissions reduction in enterprises.Considering the empirical research findings,we advocate that enterprises ought to actively improve their carbon performance and convey a good image of green environment to the market;governments ought to reinforce carbon information disclosure systems and elevate the transparency of carbon information in the market;and the capital market should amplify carbon risk education and foster investors’ green and low-carbon consciousness.