The Corporate Economic Performance of Environmentally Eligible Firms Nexus Climate Change: An Empirical Research in a Bayesian VAR Framework

Abstract

Corporate economic performance and its association with carbon emissions has been the subject of extensive research within the last few decades. The present study examines the economic performance of green firms as reflected in the Financial Times Stock Exchange Environmental Opportunities Index Series (FTSE EO) and its association with carbon emissions, incorporating the role of two more indices, namely the Baltic Clean Tanker Index (BAIT) and EUR/USD exchange rate. The methodology employed is the Bayesian Vector Autoregression Model (BVAR). Our findings confirm the interlinkages among the variables studied. More specifically, based on impulse response analysis, the direction of causality is two-way. The response of carbon emissions to a shock in the other variables is negative for the case of the EUR/USD exchange rate and Baltic Clean Tanker Index (BAIT) (an index representing the conventional energy sources), while it is positive for a shock in the FTSE EO. However, the most important finding is the return to the steady state after nine or ten periods. This result is very significant since the global environmental agreements along with the global economic conditions and the energy resources may well lead to limitations in carbon emissions within a framework of a well-organized and targeted climate change mitigation strategy.

Keywords

• economic performance
• carbon emissions
• Bayesian VAR
• BAIT
• FTSE EO