Firm’s Climate Change Risk and Firm Value: An Empirical Analysis of the Energy Industry

Abstract

We explore the impact on firm value by numerous factors in the energy industry using panel data from 2010 to 2020. The analysis employs different econometric methods, including fixed-effects, random-effects, two-stage least squares, and generalized method of moments. Our main variables of interest are firm value, firm-level climate change risk, fixed assets, leverage, dividend yield, market capitalization, and assets tangibility. The result suggests that investors are valuing energy firms less due to their exposure to climate change risk. We found that climate change risk, fixed assets, firm leverage, and assets tangibility are negatively related while market capitalization and dividend yield are positively related to firm value. These findings have important implications for energy firms, policymakers, and investors. Energy firms need to consider climate change risk in their investment decisions to maintain their market value, and policymakers should encourage firms to disclose their climate change risk to improve market efficiency. Finally, investors need to incorporate climate change risk in their investment strategies to mitigate potential financial losses.