西安交通大学学报（社会科学版）2025，Vol.45Issue(4)：27-38,12.DOI:10.15896/j.xjtuskxb.202504003
气候风险感知对企业ESG表现的影响研究
The Impact of Climate Risk Perception on Corporate ESG Performance
摘要
Abstract
With growing global attention to environmental protection,enterprises are facing increasing pressure to manage climate risks and enhance their ESG(Environmental,Social,and Governance)performance.A strong ESG profile not only reflects a firm's commitment to environmental responsibility and social accountability but also serves as a key indicator for investors in evaluating long-term value and risk.However,how firms improve ESG performance under the complex backdrop of climate risks remains underexplored in both theoretical and empirical dimensions.This study systematically investigates the impact of corporate climate risk perception on ESG performance and explores the underlying mechanisms and heterogeneity across regional and firm-level characteristics. Using a balanced panel dataset of 29,034 observations from Chinese A-share listed companies between 2009 and 2022,we construct a firm-level climate risk perception index based on textual analysis of annual reports.The index captures both physical climate risks and transition climate risks.ESG performance is measured primarily using Sino-Securities ESG ratings.The empirical analysis is conducted using a fixed-effects regression model. Our baseline results indicate that corporate climate risk perception significantly and positively influences ESG performance,particularly in the environmental and social responsibility dimensions.Mechanism analysis reveals that this effect operates through three channels:(1)promoting environmental protection investments,(2)stimulating green technological innovation,and(3)encouraging proactive pollution reduction behaviors.Furthermore,boundary condition analysis highlights the critical role of external supervisory mechanisms.Both institutional investor scrutiny and media monitoring significantly strengthen the positive relationship between climate risk perception and ESG outcomes. The study also conducts heterogeneity analyses at both the regional and firm levels.At the regional level,we find that local climate risk severity and the environmental attention of local governments significantly influence the effectiveness of climate risk perception.Firms in regions with lower climate risk or weaker environmental attention tend to rely more on internal perceptions to enhance ESG performance.At the firm level,heterogeneity arises from ownership structure,industry pollution intensity,and information disclosure quality.Specifically,the positive impact of climate risk perception on ESG performance is more pronounced among non-state-owned enterprises,heavily polluting industries,and firms with higher disclosure quality. Compared to previous studies,this paper makes several key contributions.First,it develops a novel textual analysis-based measure of climate risk perception using firm annual reports,enriching the methodological toolkit for assessing firm-level climate awareness.Second,it identifies and empirically verifies three mediating pathways—environmental investment,green innovation,and pollution control—through which climate risk perception enhances ESG performance.Third,it provides a comprehensive identification of external supervision and firm heterogeneity as key contextual factors in climate risk management,offering theoretical insights and practical policy implications for promoting corporate sustainable development. Overall,this study demonstrates the strategic significance of climate risk perception in shaping corporate ESG behavior and provides a theoretical foundation for helping firms adapt to climate change in a proactive and responsible manner.关键词
气候风险感知/ESG表现/企业社会责任/环保投资/绿色创新/外部监督Key words
climate risk perception/ESG performance/corporate social responsibility/environmental investment/green innovation/external supervision分类
资源环境引用本文复制引用
郭敏,杨怡凡..气候风险感知对企业ESG表现的影响研究[J].西安交通大学学报（社会科学版）,2025,45(4):27-38,12.基金项目
对外经济贸易大学研究生科研创新基金项目(202478). （202478）
