Table 8.
Carbon intensity, containment policies and stock returns
| RAW | CAPM-adj | FF-adj | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | (2) | (3) | |
| Carbon intensity | − 6.24** | − 11.7*** | − 6.16* |
| (2.593) | (3.365) | (3.214) | |
| Stringency index | 0.024 | − 0.050 | − 0.14 |
| (0.163) | (0.198) | (0.129) | |
| Carbon intensity × stringency index | 0.17 | 0.56*** | 0.32* |
| (0.123) | (0.151) | (0.154) | |
| Firm size | 2.80** | 4.65*** | 3.06*** |
| (1.039) | (1.318) | (0.922) | |
| Profitability | 0.15* | 0.054 | 0.0051 |
| (0.076) | (0.049) | (0.054) | |
| Leverage | − 0.12 | − 0.059 | 0.036 |
| (0.114) | (0.069) | (0.027) | |
| Constant | − 96.9*** | − 111.9*** | − 72.3*** |
| (27.952) | (35.617) | (24.041) | |
| Observations | 579 | 579 | 579 |
| Adjusted R2 | 0.043 | 0.043 | 0.020 |
| Industry fixed effects | No | No | No |
| Country fixed effects | No | No | No |
This table shows results from OLS regressions of individual stock abnormal returns on Carbon Intensity, Stringency Index and firm characteristics. The dependent variables are cumulative raw returns (RAW), CAPM-adjusted (CAPM-adj) returns and Fama–French-adjusted returns. The event period for estimating the abnormal returns is January to March 2020. The variable Carbon Intensity is represented by GHG emissions normalized by the firm’s market capitalization on the day before the event window. GHG emissions are measured as the sum of Scope 1 and 2 emissions. The Stringency Index captures the strictness of ‘lockdown style’ policies that primarily restrict people’s behavior. The variable Firm Size is the natural log of market capitalization for firm i in industry j, Leverage is financial leverage calculated as average total assets divided by average total common equity and Profitability is the return on assets—a measure of a firm’s profitability. The sample consists of the STOXX 600 index constituents. Standard errors in parentheses are clustered at the country level
*p < 0.10; **p < 0.05; ***p < 0.01