Working Paper: NBER ID: w31244
Authors: Patrick Bolton; Marcin Kacperczyk
Abstract: A growing fraction of companies globally have made commitments to reduce their carbon emissions by a certain date. While the companies that make commitments subsequently reduce their emissions, the effect on overall emissions of companies (including those that do not commit) has been small; the companies that commit, and those that make the most ambitious commitments, tend to have lower emissions; firm commitments are less prevalent in countries where governments have made national commitments. Overall, the commitment movements have been successful in drawing the willing but have found greater resistance from the companies that most need to reduce their emissions.
Keywords: climate change; corporate commitments; carbon emissions
JEL Codes: D62; D82; G23; G30
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| growth in total corporate carbon emissions (O44) | increase in firm commitments (D25) |
| increase in firm commitments (D25) | growth in total corporate carbon emissions (O44) |
| companies making commitments (L14) | lower emissions initially (Q52) |
| greater institutional pressures (D02) | companies making commitments (L14) |
| higher emissions (F64) | choice of base years with unusually high emissions (E01) |
| firm commitments (G32) | reductions in emissions post-commitment (Q52) |