IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/riibaf/v76y2025ics0275531925001114.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Yang
  • Dong, Kangyin
  • Nepal, Rabindra
  • Afi, Hatem

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Yang & Dong, Kangyin & Nepal, Rabindra & Afi, Hatem, 2025. "How do climate risks affect corporate ESG performance? Micro evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:76:y:2025:i:c:s0275531925001114
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2025.102855
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531925001114
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ribaf.2025.102855?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zacharias Sautner & Laurence Van Lent & Grigory Vilkov & Ruishen Zhang, 2023. "Firm‐Level Climate Change Exposure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 78(3), pages 1449-1498, June.
    2. Christopher F Baum & Mark E. Schaffer & Steven Stillman, 2003. "Instrumental variables and GMM: Estimation and testing," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 3(1), pages 1-31, March.
    3. Robert F Engle & Stefano Giglio & Bryan Kelly & Heebum Lee & Johannes Stroebel, 2020. "Hedging Climate Change News," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 1184-1216.
    4. Nicolo, Giuseppe & Zampone, Giovanni & Sannino, Giuseppe & Tiron-Tudor, Adriana, 2023. "Worldwide evidence of corporate governance influence on ESG disclosure in the utilities sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    5. DasGupta, Ranjan, 2022. "Financial performance shortfall, ESG controversies, and ESG performance: Evidence from firms around the world," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    6. Nathalie Scholl & Stephan Klasen, 2019. "Re-estimating the relationship between inequality and growth," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 71(4), pages 824-847.
    7. Wu, Zihao & Lin, Siliang & Chen, Tianhao & Luo, Chunyang & Xu, Hui, 2023. "Does effective corporate governance mitigate the negative effect of ESG controversies on firm value?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1772-1793.
    8. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    9. Gao, Wei & Liu, Zebin, 2023. "Green credit and corporate ESG performance: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PB).
    10. Tian, Ye & Chen, Songbo & Dai, Li, 2024. "How climate risk drives corporate green innovation: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    11. Nepal, Rabindra & Zhao, Xiaomeng & Liu, Yang & Dong, Kangyin, 2024. "Can green finance strengthen energy resilience? The case of China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    12. Weiping Li & Xiaoqi Chen & Tao Yuan, 2023. "Green credit policy and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(S2), pages 2875-2903, June.
    13. Mauro Aliano & Giuseppe Galloppo & Viktoriia Paimanova, 2023. "People and investor attention to climate change," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(18), pages 2107-2127, December.
    14. Charles J. Hadlock & Joshua R. Pierce, 2010. "New Evidence on Measuring Financial Constraints: Moving Beyond the KZ Index," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(5), pages 1909-1940.
    15. Liu, Xiaoqian & Cifuentes-Faura, Javier & Zhao, Shikuan & Wang, Long, 2024. "The impact of government environmental attention on firms’ ESG performance: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(PA).
    16. Ho, Kelvin & Wong, Andrew, 2023. "Effect of climate-related risk on the costs of bank loans: Evidence from syndicated loan markets in emerging economies," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    17. Cheng, Louis T.W. & Lee, Shu Kam & Li, Sung Ko & Tsang, Chun Kei, 2023. "Understanding resource deployment efficiency for ESG and financial performance: A DEA approach," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    18. Xiwen Yin & Dingqing Wang & Jingjing Lu & Lei Liu, 2023. "Does green credit policy promote corporate green innovation? Evidence from China," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3187-3215, October.
    19. Li, Yunhe & Zhang, Zhaolong, 2023. "Corporate climate risk exposure and capital structure: Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    20. Cai, Cen & Tu, Yongqian & Li, Zhi, 2023. "Enterprise digital transformation and ESG performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PD).
    21. Zhao, Chuan & Guo, Qidong & Jia, Rongwen & Dong, Kangyin & Wang, Kun, 2023. "How does clean energy transition promote original design manufacturers? A three-party evolutionary game analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    22. Henry He Huang & Joseph Kerstein & Chong Wang, 2018. "The impact of climate risk on firm performance and financing choices: An international comparison," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(5), pages 633-656, July.
    23. Bertrand, Jean-Louis & Parnaudeau, Miia, 2019. "Understanding the economic effects of abnormal weather to mitigate the risk of business failures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 391-402.
    24. Alfonso Del Giudice & Silvia Rigamonti, 2020. "Does Audit Improve the Quality of ESG Scores? Evidence from Corporate Misconduct," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-16, July.
    25. Lin, Yongjia & Lu, Zhenye & Wang, Yizhi, 2023. "The impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices on investment efficiency in China: Does digital transformation matter?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    26. Hossain, Ashrafee T. & Masum, Abdullah-Al, 2022. "Does corporate social responsibility help mitigate firm-level climate change risk?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    27. Huang, Qiping & Lin, Meimei, 2022. "Do climate risk beliefs shape corporate social responsibility?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    28. Beatriz Aibar‐Guzmán & Nicola Raimo & Filippo Vitolla & Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez, 2024. "Corporate governance and financial performance: Reframing their relationship in the context of climate change," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1493-1509, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yuping Song & Lu Lu & Jingxuan Liu & Jingyi Zhou & Xin Wang & Fangfang Li, 2025. "A Study of the Factors Contributing to the Impact of Climate Risks on Corporate Performance in China’s Energy Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-26, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hossain, Ashrafee & Masum, Abdullah-Al & Benkraiem, Ramzi, 2024. "Long-term institutional investors and climate change news Beta," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. Jiang, Chuyu & Li, Yating & Zhang, Xuan & Zhao, Yang, 2025. "Climate risk and corporate debt decision," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    3. Tran, Ly Thi Hai & Ho, Tuan & Ho, Hoai Thu & Phung, Nam Duc, 2024. "Climate vulnerability and capital structure: Moderating effect of financial development, financial constraints, and 2015 Paris Agreement," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PC).
    4. Tian, Ye & Zhao, Mengyang, 2025. "Does managerial climate risk perception improve environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance? Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    5. Ongsakul, Viput & Papangkorn, Suwongrat & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2023. "Estimating the effect of climate change exposure on firm value using climate policy uncertainty: A text-based approach," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    6. Akhtaruzzaman, Md & Boubaker, Sabri & Gamage, Pandula & Obeng, Victoria, 2025. "Environmental innovation and climate risk awareness: The moderating role of SDG13," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    7. Lu, Xinjie & Zeng, Qing & Huang, Yisu & Wu, Hanlin, 2025. "Management climate risk concern and corporate bond credit spread," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    8. Zhang, Dongyang & Bai, Dingchuan & Wang, Yizhi, 2024. "Green vs. brown: Climate risk showdown – who’s thriving, who’s diving?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    9. Cheng, Louis T.W. & Cheong, Tsun Se & Wojewodzki, Michal & Chui, David, 2025. "The effect of ESG divergence on the financial performance of Hong Kong-listed firms: An artificial neural network approach," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
    10. Li, Wanli & Luo, Dan & Cheng, Teng-Yuan, 2025. "Strategy choices in strategic risk-taking: Does climate risk matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    11. Lian, Yonghui & Yang, Zixin & Cao, Hong, 2025. "Does ESG performance affect trade credit financing? Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    12. Dallocchio, Maurizio & D’Ercole, Francesco & Frascati, Domenico & Mariani, Massimo, 2025. "Climate transition and the speed of leverage adjustment," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    13. He, Feng & Duan, Lin & Cao, Yi & Wen, Shuyang, 2024. "Green credit policy and corporate climate risk exposure," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    14. Lei Zhang & Kiridaran Kanagaretnam & Jing Gao, 2024. "Climate Change Social Norms and Corporate Cash Holdings," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(3), pages 661-683, March.
    15. Deng, Qu & Huang, Garland & Li, Donghui & Yang, Shijie, 2024. "The impact of climate risk on corporate innovation: An international comparison," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    16. Vu, Thanh Nam, 2025. "ESG performance and sustainability concerns exposure," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    17. Peng, Shengnan & Liu, Chan & Wang, Ze & Ye, Zihan & Sun, Xialing & Tan, Zhanglu, 2024. "The impact of the carbon reduction policy effectiveness on energy companies' ESG performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    18. Yin, Zhujia & Deng, Rantian & Xia, Jiejin & Zhao, Lili, 2024. "Climate risk and corporate ESG performance: Evidence from China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    19. Ferdous, Lutfa Tilat & Atawnah, Nader & Yeboah, Richard & Zhou, Yifan, 2024. "Firm-level climate risk and accounting conservatism: International evidence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PC).
    20. Agoraki, Konstantina K. & Giaka, Maria & Konstantios, Dimitrios & Negkakis, Ioannis, 2024. "The relationship between firm-level climate change exposure, financial integration, cost of capital and investment efficiency," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:76:y:2025:i:c:s0275531925001114. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ribaf .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.