期刊名称:BIS Quarterly Review: International Banking and Financial Market Developments = BIZ-Quartalsbericht: Internationales Bankgeschäft und internationale Finanzmärkte
印刷版ISSN:1012-9979
出版年度:2021
卷号:2021
语种:English
出版社:Bank for International Settlements
摘要:Financial markets can support the transition to a more sustainable and fairer economy by influencing firms' funding costs. To explore this mechanism, we study the extent to which investors respond to signals about the environmental or social benefits stemming from given projects or firms. We find evidence of a carbon risk premium: debt from entities with a higher carbon footprint trades at marginally higher yields, all else the same. We also document that investors are willing to pay a social premium – which we refer to as "socium" – when a firm issues a social rather than a conventional bond. The magnitudes of the carbon risk premium and socium are modest but non-negligible in some industrial sectors and market segments. Some obstacles – such as "ESG washing" – stand in the way of further ESG market deepening, limiting contributions to sustainable development.