Corporate commitment to climate change action,carbon risk exposure,and a firm's debt financing policy

Motivated by the rising consensus that corporate engagement in climate change actions holds the key for society's transition into environmentally resilient economy, the study examines whether a firm's commitment to climate change action and its carbon risk exposure shape the firm's debt financing policy. Based on insights drawn from signaling, corporate reputation, and agency theories, we develop models that link corporate commitment to climate change actions and a firm's carbon risk exposure with its debt financing decisions. Using data drawn from S&P 500 companies, for years 2015 to 2019, we find a robust evidence that firms that engage in higher levels of commitment to climate change actions issue a higher proportion of debt with longer terms to maturity, even after controlling for their carbon risk exposure. However, we do not find a robust evidence corroborating an association between firms' carbon risk exposure and their debt financing policy. These findings are consistent with arguments that high-commitment firms enjoy positive reputation, better credit rating, and reduced agency and information asymmetry costs, allowing them to gain easier access to long-term debt markets.     

我国碳排放交易会计问题研究

从碳排放交易所涉及重点排放企业的角度出发,通过分析我国碳排放交易市场的现状,借鉴相关的研究与规范,就碳排放配额的会计确认问题、碳排放权交易的会计处理问题、企业碳排放相关的会计信息披露问题进行研究分析,提出了碳排放交易的会计处理的意见和建议。     

财政压力、地方政府行为与环境污染

地方政府是生态环境治理的关键主体，财政压力以地方政府行为作为传导变量，对环境污染及其治理效果有深刻影响。实证检验地方政府行为的促污和治污效应对财政压力冲击的响应。结果表明：激励生产型地方政府行为促进污染增加，在财政压力下促进污染增加效应的激化，即压力越大越污染。环境治理型地方政府行为中的环境保护支出对污染治理有效，财政压力对其治污效应有提升作用；排污费征收不治污、反促污，财政高压使其促污效应强化。在财政增支减收、压力不断攀升的背景下，可从治理体制性财政压力诱因、强化对地方政府行为监督和约束以及优化治理工具提升环境治理绩效等方面来平抑财政压力通过地方政府行为引发的环境污染加剧。     

碳关税的征收对中国纸制品出口贸易的长期影响效应分析

发达国家以保护全球环境为名提出了有关碳关税的政策,但是结合碳关税的相关政策内容来看,其动机是为了抑制发展中国家高能耗产品的出口,以便保证自身高能耗产品在国际的地位。我国身为纸制品出口贸易大国,一旦实行碳关税政策,将会对经济发展带来严重影响,基于此本文分析碳关税对中国纸制品出口贸易的长期影响效应具有十分重要的意义。     

产业链的合作机制选择与低碳产品定价及碳减排策略

生产链上下游企业选择合适的合作机制对低碳产品定价及碳减排有重要影响。通过构建博弈模型分析三种不同合作机制下的低碳产品定价及碳减排问题:第一种合作机制即制造商与零售商进行合作,当两条生产链都选择这种合作机制时,能带来较高的碳减排率和较低的零售价格,这对制造商、零售商、消费者和环境都是有利的。第二种合作机制即两条生产链的制造商之间、零售商之间分别合作,这会带来较低的碳减排率和较高的零售价格,对两个制造商有利,而对零售商和消费者不利。分析前两种合作机制的利与弊提出第三种合作机制,即零售商和制造商共享利润下的有利于碳减排的策略。最后,结合案例讨论和数值分析的研究结果表明:当制造商和零售商收入共享比在一定范围内时,第三种合作机制可以给制造商和零售商带来更高的利润。由此为企业选择最佳的合作机制及合理的碳减排策略提供了理论指导。     

Reducing High Public Debt Ratios: Lessons from UK Experience*

This paper examines contrasting experiences of the United Kingdom in addressing high public debt to GDP ratios following major wars. A clear message is that interest rate / growth rate differentials were more important than primary budget surpluses for the different outcomes. The debt to GDP ratio fell very rapidly under financial repression following the Second World War but remained stubbornly high despite large budget surpluses with price deflation after the First World War. Implications for policymakers today are that averting price deflation is a high priority and that supply‐side policies that raise growth could play an important part in debt reduction.     

调整燃烧降低飞灰含碳量

飞灰含碳量对火电厂经济运行有重要影响。本文主要研究通过对电厂锅炉燃烧方式的运行调整提高锅炉的效率和经济性的措施和方法。     

Is forest carbon sequestration at the expense of bioenergy and forest products cost-efficient in EU climate policy to 2050?

Forest management affects the quantity of CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere through carbon sequestration in standing biomass, carbon storage in forest products and production of bioenergy. The main question studied in this paper is whether forest carbon sequestration is worth increasing at the expense of bioenergy and forest products to achieve the EU emissions reduction target for 2050 in a cost-efficient manner. A dynamic cost minimisation model is used to find the optimal combination of carbon abatement strategies to meet annual emissions targets between 2010 and 2050. The results indicate that forest carbon sequestration is a low-cost abatement method. With sequestration, the net present costs of meeting EU carbon targets can be reduced by 23%.     

Climate Change and Asset Prices: Are Corporate Carbon Disclosure and Performance Priced Appropriately?

This paper empirically assesses the relevance of information on corporate climate change disclosure and performance to asset prices, and discusses whether this information is priced appropriately. Findings indicate that corporate disclosures of quantitative greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and, to a lesser extent, carbon performance are value relevant. We use hand‐collected information on quantitative GHG emissions for 433 European companies and build portfolios based on GHG disclosure and performance. We regress portfolios on a standard four factor model extended for industry effects over the years 2005 to 2009. Results show that investors achieved abnormal risk‐adjusted returns of up to 13.05% annually by exploiting inefficiently priced positive effects of (complete) GHG emissions disclosure and good corporate climate change performance in terms of GHG efficiency. Results imply that, firstly, information costs involved in carbon disclosure and management do not present a burden on corporate financial resources. Secondly, investors should not neglect carbon disclosure and performance when making investment decisions. Thirdly, during the period analysed, financial markets were inefficient in pricing publicly available information on carbon disclosure and performance. Mandatory and standardised information on carbon performance would consequently not only increase market efficiency but result in better allocation of capital within the real economy.     

我国农作物秸秆综合利用现状及焚烧碳排放估算

[目的]为加快推进秸秆资源化利用工作,有效缓解因秸秆焚烧带来的环境问题。[方法]将全国划分为黄淮海区、西北区、东北区、东南区、西南区五大区域,对各类农作物秸秆进行了统计分析,研究了秸秆产生量、秸秆资源密度、秸秆利用结构、秸秆焚烧碳排放量。[结果]全国秸秆理论资源量达到10.4亿t,可收集量达到9.0亿t,玉米、水稻和小麦3类农作物秸秆占总量的79.19%,黄淮海区秸秆产量最高,占总量的33.41%。秸秆已利用量为7.21亿t,综合利用率达到80.11%,其中肥料化、饲料化、基料化、燃料化、原料化利用量占已利用量的比例分别为53.93%、23.42%、4.98%、14.27%、3.40%,形成了农用为主的利用格局,但不同秸秆种类综合利用率和利用结构存在显著差异。全国秸秆资源密度和人均占有量分别为523.57kg/667m~2和1.75 t,东北区显著高于全国平均水平,西南区和东南区则显著低于全国平均水平。根据环保部卫星遥感监测的露天焚烧火点数比例估算,2015年我国秸秆露天焚烧量约为8 110万t,总碳排放量约为3 450万t,其中东北地区约占74.1%。[结论]我国秸秆综合利用的重点和难点在东北地区,进一步推动区域秸秆实现全量利用,对于促进低碳农业发展,应对气候变化有着十分重要的意义。