Green Bonds: financial development or financialization? A firm-level analysis of their emission and energy impacts

Chris Stumphius, Dirk Bezemer*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Working paperAcademic

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Abstract

Financial development supports productive investment, but financialization may undermine it. We extend this insight to the energy transition, where sustainable finance is hoped to reduce emissions, but must do soin a financialized credit system and corporate environment. We analyze the green bond market in a global sample of 147 corporates across 10 industries over 2010-2020. In a matched-firm analysis we examine the effect of green bond issuance on a firm’s environmental performance post-issuance in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and energy intensity. Different from earlier findings, green-bond issuers in this sample do not significantly improve their environmental performance post-issuance, neither in the full sample nor within industries. There are large differences between industries which suggest entry points to improve the effectiveness of green bonds.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationGroningen
PublisherUniversity of Groningen, FEB Research Institute
Number of pages23
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Publication series

NameFEBRI Research Reports
PublisherUniversity of Groningen, FEBRI Research Institute
No.2024004-GEM

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