IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/rafpps/v13y2014i4p400-420.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Carbon emissions and the cost of capital: Australian evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Yongqing Li
  • Ian Eddie
  • Jinghui Liu

Abstract

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential impact of the approved Australian carbon emissions reduction plan on the cost of capital and the association between companies’ carbon emission intensity and the cost of capital. Design/methodology/approach - – A sample of Australian Stock Exchange 200 (ASX 200)-indexed companies from 2006 to 2010 is used. Hypotheses are tested based on Heckman’s two-stage approach. Three regression models are developed to examine the association between carbon emissions and the cost of capital. Findings - – Using a sample of ASX 200-indexed listed companies, the paper finds that the cost of capital, including the cost of debt and the cost of equity, will increase for emissions-liable companies. Results also show that the cost of debt is positively correlated with a company’s emission intensity. However, little evidence supports that the emission intensity affects the cost of equity. Originality/value - – As it is evident that the emissions reduction plan will adversely affect corporate entities’ cost of capital, this study suggests that companies, investors and lenders need to include carbon emission in risk analysis. An emissions-liable company should establish strategies to combat the impact of the Plan on rising cost that comes with the enforcement of the Plan. Government assistance is essential in the transitional period.

Suggested Citation

  • Yongqing Li & Ian Eddie & Jinghui Liu, 2014. "Carbon emissions and the cost of capital: Australian evidence," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(4), pages 400-420, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:eme:rafpps:v:13:y:2014:i:4:p:400-420
    DOI: 10.1108/RAF-08-2012-0074
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/RAF-08-2012-0074/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/RAF-08-2012-0074/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/RAF-08-2012-0074?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 search for a different version of it.

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Massimo Mariani & Fabio Pizzutilo & Alessandra Caragnano & Marianna Zito, 2021. "Does it pay to be environmentally responsible? Investigating the effect on the weighted average cost of capital: Environmental commitment and the cost of capital," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1854-1869, November.
    2. Bakkar, Yassine, 2023. "Climate Risk and Bank Capital Structure," QBS Working Paper Series 2023/04, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's Business School.
    3. Huixiang Zeng & Tao Zhang & Zhifang Zhou & Yang Zhao & Xiaohong Chen, 2020. "Water disclosure and firm risk: Empirical evidence from highly water‐sensitive industries in China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 17-38, January.
    4. Zhu, Bo & Zhao, Yue, 2022. "Carbon risk and the cost of bank loans: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    5. Binh Bui & Muhammad Nurul Houqe & Muhammad Kaleem Zahir-ul-Hassan, 2022. "Moderating effect of carbon accounting systems on strategy and carbon performance: a CDP analysis," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 483-524, December.
    6. Zhifang Zhou & Tao Zhang & Kang Wen & Huixiang Zeng & Xiaohong Chen, 2018. "Carbon risk, cost of debt financing and the moderation effect of media attention: Evidence from Chinese companies operating in high‐carbon industries," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1131-1144, December.
    7. Anis Maaloul, 2018. "The effect of greenhouse gas emissions on cost of debt: Evidence from Canadian firms," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1407-1415, November.
    8. Zhu, Bo & Hou, Rui, 2022. "Carbon risk and dividend policy: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    9. Phan, Dinh Hoang Bach & Tran, Vuong Thao & Ming, Tee Chwee & Le, Anh, 2022. "Carbon risk and corporate investment: A cross-country evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    10. Yujin Kim & Su-In Kim, 2022. "Environmental Risk and Credit Ratings, and the Moderating Effect of Market Competition," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-17, April.
    11. Lakshmi, Geeta & Tilley, Simon, 2019. "The “power” of community renewable energy enterprises: The case of Sustainable Hockerton Ltd," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 787-795.
    12. Tesfaye T. Lemma & Martin Feedman & Mthokozisi Mlilo & Jin Dong Park, 2019. "Corporate carbon risk, voluntary disclosure, and cost of capital: South African evidence," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 111-126, January.
    13. Tian Zhao & Zhixin Liu, 2022. "Drivers of CO 2 Emissions: A Debt Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, February.
    14. Faisal Faisal & Erika Dwi Andiningtyas & Tarmizi Achmad & Haryanto Haryanto & Wahyu Meiranto, 2018. "The content and determinants of greenhouse gas emission disclosure: Evidence from Indonesian companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1397-1406, November.
    15. Choi, Young Mok & Park, Kunsu, 2019. "Does foreign currency-denominated debt affect dividend payout policy? Evidence from Korea," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 20-34.
    16. Safiullah, Md & Kabir, Md. Nurul & Miah, Mohammad Dulal, 2021. "Carbon emissions and credit ratings," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    17. Ignatius Edward Riantono & Felicia Wigna Sunarto, 2022. "Factor Affecting Intentions of Indonesian Companies to Disclose Carbon Emission," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 12(3), pages 451-459, May.
    18. Mohammad Dulal Miah & Rashedul Hasan & Mohammed Usman, 2021. "Carbon Emissions and Firm Performance: Evidence from Financial and Non-Financial Firms from Selected Emerging Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, November.
    19. Linda Kusumaning Wedari & Amir Moradi‐Motlagh & Christine Jubb, 2023. "The moderating effect of innovation on the relationship between environmental and financial performance: Evidence from high emitters in Australia," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 654-672, January.
    20. Kabir, Md Nurul & Rahman, Sohanur & Rahman, Md Arifur & Anwar, Mumtaheena, 2021. "Carbon emissions and default risk: International evidence from firm-level data," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    21. Fabio Pizzutilo & Massimo Mariani & Alessandra Caragnano & Marianna Zito, 2020. "Dealing with Carbon Risk and the Cost of Debt: Evidence from the European Market," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-10, October.

    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:eme:rafpps:v:13:y:2014:i:4:p:400-420. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.