Sato, Misato ORCID: 0000-0002-9978-9595, Gostlow, Glen, Higham, Catherine, Setzer, Joana ORCID: 0000-0002-7705-7684 and Venmans, Frank ORCID: 0000-0002-4264-6606 (2024) Impacts of climate litigation on firm value. Nature Sustainability. ISSN 2398-9629 (In Press)
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Abstract
Communities and individuals are turning to courts to hold governments and high-emitting firms to account for the adverse consequences of climate change. Such litigation is part of a broader trend where stakeholders are increasingly scrutinizing firms for their sustainability practices. For firms, rising climate litigation risk may exacerbate wider sustainability risks. Here, we construct a comprehensive database of filings and decisions relating to 108 climate lawsuits against US and European-listed firms between 2005–2021. We show that firms experience, on average, a -0.41% fall in stock returns following a climate-related filing or an unfavourable court decision. Cases filed against Carbon Majors, primarily the world’s largest fossil fuel producers, saw the largest stock market responses, with returns reducing by -0.57% and -1.50% following filings and unfavourable decisions, respectively. Markets respond more to “novel” climate litigation involving new legal arguments or jurisdictions. Our findings suggest that climate litigation provides a way for stakeholders to challenge actual and perceived weaknesses in the sustainability practices of firms. We conclude that financial markets consider such litigation to be a relevant financial risk.
Item Type: | Article |
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Additional Information: | © 2024 |
Divisions: | Grantham Research Institute |
Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences |
Date Deposited: | 07 Oct 2024 16:06 |
Last Modified: | 18 Oct 2024 14:00 |
URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/125638 |
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