IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/mgtdec/v46y2025i2p1297-1314.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Carbon Transition Risk, Emissions Trading Schemes, and Firm Performance: International Evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Van Thi Thuy Vu
  • Khanh Hoang
  • Toan Luu Duc Huynh

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of carbon transition risk and emissions trading schemes (ETSs) on the firm performance using a sample of 401,692 firm‐quarter observations from 64 countries and territories during the 2010–2019 period. Using the Paris Agreement 2015 as the quasi‐natural experiment, our difference‐in‐differences analysis provides robust evidence of carbon transition risk enhancing heavy polluter firms' performance in countries that implemented ETS, but it is not the case for their counterparts. Our findings suggest the importance of ETS implementation in the sustainable development and demonstrate strong heterogeneity in the impact of carbon transition risk on corporate outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Van Thi Thuy Vu & Khanh Hoang & Toan Luu Duc Huynh, 2025. "Carbon Transition Risk, Emissions Trading Schemes, and Firm Performance: International Evidence," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(2), pages 1297-1314, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:46:y:2025:i:2:p:1297-1314
    DOI: 10.1002/mde.4434
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.4434
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/mde.4434?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hainmueller, Jens, 2012. "Entropy Balancing for Causal Effects: A Multivariate Reweighting Method to Produce Balanced Samples in Observational Studies," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 25-46, January.
    2. Monasterolo, Irene & de Angelis, Luca, 2020. "Blind to carbon risk? An analysis of stock market reaction to the Paris Agreement," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    3. Chan, Hei Sing (Ron) & Li, Shanjun & Zhang, Fan, 2013. "Firm competitiveness and the European Union emissions trading scheme," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1056-1064.
    4. Bolton, Patrick & Kacperczyk, Marcin, 2021. "Do investors care about carbon risk?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 517-549.
    5. Liu, Kun & Su, Xiao & Lu, Lingchen, 2024. "Carbon risk and investment efficiency: A merger and acquisition perspective," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    6. Ren, Xiaohang & Zhong, Yan & Cheng, Xu & Yan, Cheng & Gozgor, Giray, 2023. "Does carbon price uncertainty affect stock price crash risk? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    7. Anger, Niels & Oberndorfer, Ulrich, 2008. "Firm performance and employment in the EU emissions trading scheme: An empirical assessment for Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 12-22, January.
    8. 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.
    9. Khaled Alsaifi & Marwa Elnahass & Aly Salama, 2020. "Carbon disclosure and financial performance: UK environmental policy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 711-726, February.
    10. 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.
    11. Khanh Hoang, 2022. "How does corporate R&D investment respond to climate policy uncertainty? Evidence from heavy emitter firms in the United States," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 936-949, July.
    12. Zhu, Bo & Hou, Rui, 2022. "Carbon risk and dividend policy: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    13. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Goto, Mika, 2010. "Measurement of a linkage among environmental, operational, and financial performance in Japanese manufacturing firms: A use of Data Envelopment Analysis with strong complementary slackness condition," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 207(3), pages 1742-1753, December.
    14. Yue-Jun Zhang & Jing-Yue Liu, 2019. "Does carbon emissions trading affect the financial performance of high energy-consuming firms in China?," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 95(1), pages 91-111, January.
    15. Xin Xie & Shabnam Khan & Saqib Rehman & Shumaila Naz & Syed Arslan Haider & Umar Nawaz Kayani, 2024. "Ameliorating sustainable business performance through green constructs: a case of manufacturing industry," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(9), pages 22655-22687, September.
    16. 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.
    17. Nelson, Sarah & Allwood, Julian M., 2021. "The technological and social timelines of climate mitigation: Lessons from 12 past transitions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    18. Makridou, Georgia & Doumpos, Michalis & Galariotis, Emilios, 2019. "The financial performance of firms participating in the EU emissions trading scheme," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 250-259.
    19. Balachandran, Balasingham & Nguyen, Justin Hung, 2018. "Does carbon risk matter in firm dividend policy? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in an imputation environment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 249-267.
    20. 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.
    21. Zanin, Luca, 2023. "A flexible estimation of sectoral portfolio exposure to climate transition risks in the European stock market," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    22. Qingxia (Jenny) Wang, 2023. "Financial effects of carbon risk and carbon disclosure: A review," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(4), pages 4175-4219, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Chen, Rushi & Howley, Peter & Kesidou, Effie, 2024. "The impact of ETS on productivity in developing economies: A micro-econometric evaluation with Chinese firm-level data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    2. Zhu, Bo & Hou, Rui, 2022. "Carbon risk and dividend policy: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    3. Qingxia (Jenny) Wang, 2023. "Financial effects of carbon risk and carbon disclosure: A review," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(4), pages 4175-4219, December.
    4. Chu, Baoju & Dong, Yizhe & Liu, Yaorong & Ma, Diandian & Wang, Tianju, 2024. "Does China's emission trading scheme affect corporate financial performance: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    5. Md Lutfur Rahman & Sudipta Bose, 2025. "Firm-level Climate Vulnerability and Corporate Risk-taking: International Evidence," Working Papers DP-2024-36, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    6. Mueller, Isabella & Sfrappini, Eleonora, 2022. "Climate Change-Related Regulatory Risks and Bank Lending," Working Paper Series 2670, European Central Bank.
    7. Trinh, Vu Quang & Trinh, Hai Hong & Li, Teng & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2024. "Climate change exposure, financial development, and the cost of debt: Evidence from EU countries," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    8. 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.
    9. 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).
    10. Demiralay, Sercan & Gencer, Hatice Gaye & Bayraci, Selcuk, 2022. "Carbon credit futures as an emerging asset: Hedging, diversification and downside risks," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    11. Ayed, Sabrine & Ben-Amar, Walid & Arouri, Mohamed, 2024. "Climate policy uncertainty and corporate dividends," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    12. 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).
    13. Nguyen, Justin Hung & Shi, Jing, 2021. "Are banks really special? Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    14. Ding, Xin & Chourou, Lamia & Ben-Amar, Walid, 2024. "Carbon emissions and audit fees: Evidence from emerging markets," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    15. Bakkar, Yassine, 2023. "Climate Risk and Bank Capital Structure," QBS Working Paper Series 2023/04, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's Business School.
    16. Desheng Liu & Yizhen Wang & Mingsheng Li, 2024. "Is it just for shareholders or for all stakeholders? Evidence based on carbon emissions and cash dividends from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 64(4), pages 4069-4094, December.
    17. Themann, Michael & Koch, Nicolas, 2021. "Catching up and falling behind: Cross-country evidence on the impact of the EU ETS on firm productivity," Ruhr Economic Papers 904, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    18. Dai, Zhifeng & Zhu, Haoyang, 2024. "Climate policy uncertainty and urban green total factor productivity: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    19. Simone Lazzini & Zeila Occhipinti & Angela Parenti & Roberto Verona, 2021. "Disentangling economic crisis effects from environmental regulation effects: Implications for sustainable development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2332-2353, July.
    20. Oscar Domenichelli, 2023. "Carbon Risk and Corporate Capital Structure: The State of the Art," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 15(8), pages 1-66, August.

    More about this item

    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:wly:mgtdec:v:46:y:2025:i:2:p:1297-1314. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/7976 .

    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.