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International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology

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ISSN: 3108-1762 (Online)
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CLIMATE-CONSCIOUS CAPITAL AND THE NET-ZERO TRANSITION

AUTHORS:
Dr. A C Kiran Kumar
Mentor
Dr. Girish V
Affiliation
Department of Management Studies and Research,P E S College of Engineering, Mandya
CC BY 4.0 License:
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract

This paper examines the empirical relationship between climate-conscious capital allocation and corporate sustainability outcomes in the context of the global net-zero transition. Drawing on panel data from over 2,400 publicly listed firms across 42 countries spanning 2010–2023, we analyse whether green bond issuances, ESG-linked financing structures, and sustainability-indexed equity ownership materially improve firms' carbon intensity, renewable energy investment, and scope 1–3 emissions trajectories. Using difference-in-differences estimation with entropy-balanced propensity score matching, we find robust evidence that green bond issuers reduce scope 1 emissions by 11.4% and scope 2 emissions by 14.7% relative to matched non-issuers within three years of first issuance. ESG-linked loan covenants accelerate capital expenditure on clean technologies by 23% and improve environmental disclosure quality by 18 percentage points. Sustainability-indexed institutional ownership is associated with a 9.2% reduction in carbon intensity and a statistically significant increase in renewable energy as a share of total energy consumption. Heterogeneity analyses reveal larger effects for firms in high-emitting sectors and those domiciled in jurisdictions with mandatory climate disclosure regimes. Our results are robust to alternative identification strategies and are not explained by sample selection or reporting incentives alone. The findings carry significant implications for policymakers designing green finance taxonomies, regulators advancing disclosure mandates, and institutional investors constructing climate-aligned portfolios.

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Kumar, A. C. K. (2026). Climate-Conscious Capital and the Net-Zero Transition. International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology, 02(04). https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsmt.v2i4.126

Kumar, A. "Climate-Conscious Capital and the Net-Zero Transition." International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology, vol. 02, no. 04, 2026, pp. . doi:https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsmt.v2i4.126.

Kumar, A. "Climate-Conscious Capital and the Net-Zero Transition." International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology 02, no. 04 (2026). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsmt.v2i4.126.

References
1.Callaway, B., & Sant'Anna, P.H.C. (2021). Difference-in-differences with multiple time periods. Journal of Econometrics, 225(2), 200–230.

2.Cheng, B., Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. (2014). Corporate social responsibility and access to finance. Strategic Management Journal, 35(1), 1–23.

3.Climate Bonds Initiative (2023). Green Bond Market Summary. London: Climate Bonds Initiative.

4.EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (2020). Taxonomy: Final report of the Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. European Commission.

5.Flammer, C. (2021). Corporate green bonds. Journal of Financial Economics, 142(2), 499–516.

6.Gillan, S.L., Koch, A., & Starks, L.T. (2021). Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance. Journal of Corporate Finance, 66, 101889.

7.Goss, A., & Roberts, G.S. (2011). The impact of corporate social responsibility on the cost of bank loans. Journal of Banking & Finance, 35(7), 1794–1810.

8.Hainmueller, J. (2012). Entropy balancing for causal effects: A multivariate reweighting method to produce balanced samples in observational studies. Political Analysis, 20(1), 25–46.

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10.International Energy Agency (2023). World Energy Outlook 2023. Paris: IEA.

 
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This article has undergone plagiarism screening and double-blind peer review. Editorial policies have been followed. Authors retain copyright under CC BY-NC 4.0 license. The research complies with ethical standards and institutional guidelines.
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