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This study aims to empirically examine the influence of financial constraints on firm carbon emissions. In addition to the role of financial constraints in firm-level carbon emissions, this study also examines this influence in the presence of governance, environmental orientation and firm-level attributes.

Using pooled ordinary least square, this study examines the impact of financial constraints on firm-level carbon emissions using a panel of 1,536 US firm-year observations from 2008 to 2019. This study also used two-step generalized method of moment–based dynamic panel data and two-stage least square approaches to address potential endogeneity. The results are robust to endogeneity and collinearity issues.

The results suggest that financial constraints enhance the carbon emissions of the firms. The economic significance of financial constraints on carbon emissions is more pronounced for the firms that do not report environment-related expenditure investment and those that are highly leveraged. The authors further document that firms with a nondiverse gender board signify a statistically significant impact of financial constraints on carbon emissions. These results are also economically significant, as one standard deviation increase in financial constraints is associated with a 3.340% increase in carbon emissions at the firm level.

Some implicit and explicit factors like corporate emissions policy and culture may condition the relationship of financial constraints with carbon emissions. Therefore, it would be worthwhile to consider these factors for future research. In addition, it is beneficial to identify the thresholds and/or quantiles at which financial constraints may significantly make a difference in enhancing carbon emissions.

The findings offer policy implications for investment in stakeholder engagement for capital acquisitions, thereby effectively enforcing environmental innovation and leading to a reduction in carbon emissions.

This study integrated governance and environment-oriented variables in the model to empirically examine the role of financial constraints on the carbon emissions of the firms in the USA over and above what has already been documented in the earlier literature.

Within a framework of supply chain (SC) coordination, this paper analyzes a green SC consisting of a retailer and a manufacturer, under government incentives and legislations and the consumer environmental awareness. To mitigate carbon emissions and promote the sustainability of the SC, a customized carbon emission trading mechanism is developed.

A game-theoretical decision model formulated determines the optimal sustainability level and the optimal quota of carbon credit from the ceiling capacity set by the government. In order to coordinate the SC and optimize environmental decisions, a novel combination of consignment and zero wholesale price contracts is proposed.

Analytical and numerical analyses conducted highlight that the proposed contract generates a Pareto improvement for both channel members, boosts the profit of the green SC, enhances the sustainability level of the channel and contributes to a reduction in the requested carbon emission credit by the manufacturer.

With the proposed mechanism, governments can protect their industries and, more importantly, comply with European Union (EU) rules on annually reducing emission ceilings allocated to industries.

Different from previous studies on cap-and-trade strategies, the proposed mechanism enables companies to select lower emission quota/allowances than the maximum amount set by the government, and in return, companies can benefit from several incentive strategies of the government.

This paper aims to examine the effect of carbon emissions on audit fees. The authors hypothesize that firms in cities with higher carbon emission levels have lower reporting transparency, higher return volatility or are subject to higher reputation risk, causing them to be charged higher audit fees for auditing services.

The authors use panel data of 25,960 firm-year observations from a sample of Chinese firms. The carbon emission data for each Chinese city are obtained from the China Emission Accounts and Datasets for Emerging Economies. This paper adopts a multiple regression model to study the impact of carbon emissions on audit fees.

The authors find that firms located in cities with higher carbon emission levels and firms with more carbon emissions are charged, on average, a higher audit fee. This audit fee effect of carbon risk is transmitted by lessened information transparency and elevated financial risk within these firms. This paper shows that auditors consider carbon risk in their audit fee decisions and other factors that could influence audit risk and effort.

This study draws a connection between carbon emissions and audit fees. It is especially relevant due to the increasing importance of environmental factors in the audit risk assessment. In addition, the findings suggest that a firm implementing a proactive environmental strategy benefits the economy and decreases the costs to the firm for services such as auditing.

To better understand the impact of choosing a carbon data provider for the estimated portfolio emissions across four asset classes. This is important, as prior literature has suggested that Environmental, Social and Governance scores across providers have low correlation.

The authors compare carbon data from four data providers for developed and emerging equity markets and investment grade and high-yield corporate bond markets.

Data on scope 1 and scope 2 is similar across the four data providers, but for scope 3 differences can be substantial. Carbon emissions data has become more consistent across providers over time.

The authors examine the impact of different carbon data providers at the asset class level. Portfolios that invest only in a subset of the asset class may be affected differently. Because “true” carbon emissions are not known, the authors cannot investigate which provider has the most accurate carbon data.

The impact of choosing a carbon data provider is limited for scope 1 and scope 2 data for equity markets. Differences are larger for corporate bonds and scope 3 emissions.

The authors compare carbon accounting metrics on scopes 1, 2 and 3 of corporate greenhouse gas emissions carbon data from multiple providers for developed and emerging equity and investment grade and high yield investment portfolios. Moreover, the authors show the impact of filling missing data points, which is especially relevant for corporate bond markets, where data coverage tends to be lower.

Rapidly increasing the proportion of installed wind power capacity with zero carbon emission characteristics will help adjust the energy structure and support the realization of carbon neutrality targets. The intermittency of wind resources and fluctuations in electricity demand has exacerbated the contradiction between power supply and demand. The time-of-use pricing and supply-side allocation of energy storage power stations will help “peak shaving and valley filling” and reduce the gap between power supply and demand. To this end, this paper constructs a decision-making model for the capacity investment of energy storage power stations under time-of-use pricing, which is intended to provide a reference for scientific decision-making on electricity prices and energy storage power station capacity.

Based on the research framework of time-of-use pricing, this paper constructs a profit-maximizing electricity price and capacity investment decision model of energy storage power station for flat pricing and time-of-use pricing respectively. In the process, this study considers the dual uncertain scenarios of intermittency of wind resources and random fluctuations in power demand.

(1) Investment in energy storage power stations is the optimal decision. Time-of-use pricing will reduce the optimal capacity of the energy storage power station. (2) The optimal capacity of the energy storage power station and optimal electricity price are related to factors such as the intermittency of wind resources, the unit investment cost, the price sensitivities of the demand, the proportion of time-of-use pricing and the thermal power price. (3) The carbon emission level is affected by the intermittency of wind resources, price sensitivities of the demand and the proportion of time-of-use pricing. Incentive policies can always reduce carbon emission levels.

This paper creatively introduced the research framework of time-of-use pricing into the capacity decision-making of energy storage power stations, and considering the influence of wind power intermittentness and power demand fluctuations, constructed the capacity investment decision model of energy storage power stations under different pricing methods, and compared the impact of pricing methods on optimal energy storage power station capacity and carbon emissions.

1. Electricity pricing and capacity of energy storage power stations in an uncertain electricity market.

2. Investment strategy of energy storage power stations on the supply side of wind power generators.

3. Impact of pricing method on the investment decisions of energy storage power stations.

4. Impact of pricing method, energy storage investment and incentive policies on carbon emissions.

5. A two-stage wind power supply chain including energy storage power stations.

Electricity pricing and capacity of energy storage power stations in an uncertain electricity market.

Investment strategy of energy storage power stations on the supply side of wind power generators.

Impact of pricing method on the investment decisions of energy storage power stations.

Impact of pricing method, energy storage investment and incentive policies on carbon emissions.

A two-stage wind power supply chain including energy storage power stations.

The growth of the Indian economy is accompanied by the rising trend of energy utilisation and its devastating effect on the environment. It is vital to understand the nexus between energy utilisation, climate and environment degradation and growth to devise a constructive policy framework for achieving the goal of sustainable growth. This study aims to analyse the long- and short-run association and direction of association between energy utilisation, carbon emission and growth of the Indian economy in the presence of structural break.

The study probes the association and direction of association between variables at both aggregate (total energy utilisation, total carbon emission and gross domestic product [GDP]) and disaggregates level (coal utilisation and coal emission, oil utilisation and oil emission, natural gas utilisation and natural gas emission along with GDP) over the time period of 50 years, i.e. 1971–2020. Autoregressive distributed lag model is used to examine the association between the variables and presence of structural break is confirmed with the help of Zivot–Andrews unit root test. To check the direction of association, vector error correction model Granger causality is performed.

Aggregate carbon emissions are affected positively by aggregate energy consumption and GDP in both short and long run. Bidirectional causality exists between total emissions and GDP, whereas a unidirectional causality runs from energy consumption towards carbon emission and GDP in the long run. At disaggregate level, consumption of coal energy impacts positively, whereas GDP influences coal emission negatively in the long run only. Furthermore, consumption of oil and GDP influences oil emissions positively in the long run. Lastly, natural gas is the energy source that has the fewest emissions in both short and long run.

There is a rapidly growing body of research on the connections and cause-and-effect relationships between energy use, economic growth and carbon emissions, but it has not conclusively proved how important the presence of structural breaks or changes within the economy is in shaping the outcomes of the aforementioned variables, especially when focusing on the Indian economy. By including the impact of structural break on the association between energy use, carbon emission and growth, where energy use and carbon emission are evaluated at both aggregate and disaggregate level, the current study aims to fill this gap in Indian literature.

This study aimed to develop the integration of the multiperiod production-distribution model in a closed-loop supply chain involving carbon emission and traceability. The developed model was for agricultural food (agri-food) products, considering the reverse flow of food waste from the disposal center (composting center) to producers.

The results indicate that integrating the production and distribution model considering food waste recycling provides low carbon emissions in lower total costs. The sensitivity analysis also found that there are trade-offs between production and distribution rate and food waste levels on carbon emission and traceability.

This study focuses on the mathematical modeling of a multiperiod production-distribution formulation for a closed-loop supply chain.

The model of the agri-food closed-loop supply chain in this study that considers food recycling and carbon emissions would help stakeholders involved in the agri-food supply chain to reduce food waste and carbon emissions.

The purpose of this paper is to use the case of York University in Canada to analyze the connection between University Social Responsibility and voluntary disclosure. The authors examine whether the university’s voluntary air emissions disclosure is performative by exploring whether York University’s espoused commitment to its community stakeholders truly guides its incentive to disclose carbon emissions in the absence of a legal mandate.

This qualitative exploratory study uses a post-humanistic approach to build on publicly available data on key measures and metrics of air quality and carbon emissions to facilitate our understanding of representational and interventionist uses of measurement models by social actors and their basis for making voluntary disclosures.

York University linked the logic of capital markets with sustainability disclosures as an incentive for managing the cost of long-term debt. This paper contributes to measurement practice of sustainability disclosure by reinforcing the practice-theoretic conception of measurement that questions the independent nature of objects measured from the measurement methods and reporting tools.

The findings of this study are important to higher education administrators, regulators and policymakers, as they offer a strategic guide for the assessment of reports on an organization’s commitment to sustainability and in determining the efficacy of voluntary reporting to community stakeholders in general although they are intended for specific groups.

Using York University as an illustrative case, the authors argue that air emissions per se are not a reality that shapes decisions at the organizations; instead, the intra-action of air emissions measurement, communications and operational investments define the reality where sustainability is advanced. Specifically, the authors find that the performative effects of emissions disclosure may be associated with socially desirable outcomes in terms of social responsibility and concrete financial rewards.

The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive analysis of the carbon footprint of the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), including direct and indirect emissions from utilities, logistics and purchases, as well as a discussion about the commonly used method. Emissions are presented in three scopes (scope 1 reports direct process emissions, scope 2 reports emissions from purchased energy and scope 3 reports indirect emissions from the value chain) to identify carbon emission hotspots within the university’s operations.

The carbon footprint was calculated using physical and monetary activity data, applying a process and economic input-output analysis.

TU Delft’s total carbon footprint in 2018 is calculated at 106 ktCO₂eq. About 80% are indirect (scope 3) emissions, which is in line with other studies. Emissions from Real estate and construction, Natural gas, Equipment, ICT and Facility services accounted for about 64% of the total footprint, whereas Electricity, Water and waste-related carbon emissions were negligible. These findings highlight the need to reduce universities’ supply chain emissions.

A better understanding of carbon footprint hotspots can facilitate strategies to reduce emissions and finally achieve carbon neutrality. In contrast to other work, it is argued that using economic input-output models to calculate universities’ carbon footprints is a questionable practice, as they can provide only an initial estimation. Therefore, the development of better-suited methods is called for.

Although extensive studies have examined the link between tourism and carbon emissions, the impact of tourism on carbon emissions remains controversial. In contrast to prior studies, this study aims to investigate the effects of tourism on carbon emissions at the city level and the underlying moderating mechanism.

This study designs an econometric model drawing on panel data for 313 city-level regions in China from 2001 to 2019. This study also performs rigorous robustness tests to support the regression results. In addition, the temporal and spatial heterogeneity is analyzed based on which this study discusses the moderators of the effects of tourism on carbon emissions.

The results show that both tourist arrivals and tourism revenue significantly impact carbon emissions. Also, there exists a significant temporal and spatial heterogeneity of these effects. Economic development significantly enhances while green technology and tertiary industry development suppress the positive relationship between tourism and carbon emissions. Moreover, regarding the impact on carbon emissions, an explicit substitution exists between tourism and tertiary industry development.

For the first time, this study quantitatively estimates the moderators of tourism’s impact on carbon emissions and concludes the moderating effects of economic growth, technological progress and industrial structure, thus furthering the theoretical understanding of the heterogeneity of tourism’s association with carbon emissions. The study also fills a technical gap in previous studies by demonstrating the reliability of the findings through various robustness tests. This is also the first empirical study to systematically examine the relationship between tourism and carbon emissions in China.

尽管已经有大量的研究考察了旅游和碳排放之间的联系, 但旅游对碳排放的影响仍有争议。与之前的研究相比, 本研究旨在研究城市层面上旅游业对碳排放的影响以及潜在的调节机制。

本研究基于2001-2019年中国313个城市层面的面板数据, 设计了一个计量经济学模型。本研究还进行了各种严格的稳健性检验以支持基准回归结果。本研究还分析了时空异质性, 并在此基础上讨论了旅游对碳排放影响的调节因素。

研究结果显示, 旅游者人次和旅游收入都对碳排放有明显影响。同时, 这些影响存在明显的时间和空间异质性。经济发展明显增强但是绿色技术和第三产业发展抑制了旅游业与碳排放之间的正向关系。此外, 旅游业和第三产业发展在对碳排放的影响方面存在显著的替代关系。

本研究首次定量估计了旅游业对碳排放影响的调节因素, 并总结出经济增长、技术进步和产业结构的调节作用, 从而进一步推动了对旅游业与碳排放关联的异质性的理论认识。文章还填补了以往研究的技术空白, 通过各种稳健性检验证明了研究结果的可靠性。本研究还是第一个系统地研究中国旅游业与碳排放关系的实证研究。

Este estudio diseña un modelo econométrico basado en datos de panel para 313 regiones a nivel de ciudad en China desde 2001 hasta 2019. Este estudio también aplica rigurosas pruebas de robustez para apoyar los resultados de la regresión. Además, se analiza la heterogeneidad temporal y espacial en base a la cual este estudio discute los moderadores efectos del turismo en las emisiones de carbono.

Aunque numerosos estudios han examinado la relación entre el turismo y las emisiones de carbono, su impacto sigue siendo controvertido. A diferencia de los estudios anteriores, este estudio pretende investigar los efectos del turismo en las emisiones de carbono a nivel de ciudad y el mecanismo moderador subyacente.

Los resultados muestran que tanto las llegadas de turistas como los ingresos por turismo influyen significativamente en las emisiones de carbono. Además, existe una importante heterogeneidad temporal y espacial de estos efectos. El desarrollo económico aumenta significativamente, mientras que la tecnología verde y el desarrollo de la industria terciaria suprimen la relación positiva entre el turismo y las emisiones de carbono. Además, en lo que respecta al impacto sobre las emisiones de carbono, existe una sustitución explícita entre el turismo y el desarrollo de la industria terciaria.

Por primera vez, este estudio estima cuantitativamente los moderadores del impacto del turismo en las emisiones de carbono y concluye los efectos moderadores del crecimiento económico, el progreso tecnológico y la estructura industrial, lo que permite avanzar en la comprensión teórica de la heterogeneidad de la asociación del turismo con las emisiones de carbono. El artículo también resuelve una carencia técnica de los estudios anteriores al demostrar la fiabilidad de las conclusiones mediante diversas pruebas de solidez. Este es también el primer estudio empírico que examina sistemáticamente la relación entre el turismo y las emisiones de carbono en China.