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Pricing climate change risk in corporate bonds

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  • Elsa Allman

    (French Central Bank)

Abstract

Using a firm’s geographic footprint to measure its exposure to sea level rise (SLR), I find that corporate bonds bear a climate risk premium upon issuance. A one standard deviation increase in firms’ SLR exposure is associated with a 7 basis point premium, representing a 3% increase in average yield spread. This effect is more pronounced for geographically concentrated firms, within industries vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, and after the Paris Agreement. I do not find evidence that credit rating agencies account for SLR exposure at bond issuance. Results are robust to placebo tests and inverse propensity weighting to address possible endogeneity.

Suggested Citation

  • Elsa Allman, 2022. "Pricing climate change risk in corporate bonds," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(7), pages 596-618, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:assmgt:v:23:y:2022:i:7:d:10.1057_s41260-022-00294-w
    DOI: 10.1057/s41260-022-00294-w
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    Cited by:

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    2. Abderrahim Assab, 2024. "Theoretical Foundation for Pricing Climate-Related Loss and Damage in Infrastructure Financing," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-22, March.
    3. Li, Xing & Zhou, Yanli & Zhu, Dixing & Ge, Xiangyu, 2024. "Research on effect of extreme climates penalties local government debt pricing: Evidence from urban investment bonds in China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    4. Cheng, Ruijie & Gupta, Bhavya & Rajan, Ramkishen S., 2023. "Do green financial policies offset the climate transition risk penalty imposed on long-term sovereign bond yields?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    5. Xiaolu Hu & Angel Zhong & Youdan Cao & Wenlan Wang, 2024. "The impact of air pollution on cost of debt: Evidence from corporate bond markets," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 64(4), pages 3495-3533, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate risk; Corporate bonds; Sea level rise;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation

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