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Pricing climate change risk in corporate bonds

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  • Elsa Allman

    (French Central Bank)

Abstract

Using a firm’s geographic footprint to measure its exposure to sea level rise (SLR), I find that corporate bonds bear a climate risk premium upon issuance. A one standard deviation increase in firms’ SLR exposure is associated with a 7 basis point premium, representing a 3% increase in average yield spread. This effect is more pronounced for geographically concentrated firms, within industries vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, and after the Paris Agreement. I do not find evidence that credit rating agencies account for SLR exposure at bond issuance. Results are robust to placebo tests and inverse propensity weighting to address possible endogeneity.

Suggested Citation

  • Elsa Allman, 2022. "Pricing climate change risk in corporate bonds," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(7), pages 596-618, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:assmgt:v:23:y:2022:i:7:d:10.1057_s41260-022-00294-w
    DOI: 10.1057/s41260-022-00294-w
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    Cited by:

    1. Cheng, Ruijie & Gupta, Bhavya & Rajan, Ramkishen S., 2023. "Do green financial policies offset the climate transition risk penalty imposed on long-term sovereign bond yields?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate risk; Corporate bonds; Sea level rise;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation

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