Original
Climate exposure drives firm political behavior: Evidence from earnings calls and lobbying data
Abstract
Abstract When and how do firms engage in climate politics? We argue that regulatory concerns, business opportunities, and physical risks activate policy preferences and lobbying efforts. We measure firm‐level exposure to opportunity, regulatory, and physical aspects of climate change based on discussion in quarterly earnings call transcripts for 11,705 publicly traded firms between 2001 and 2023. We estimate the effect of climate exposure on climate lobbying instances (extensive margin), amount (intensive margin), and targets (political entities). We find that more exposed companies, especially in terms of opportunities and regulation, are more likely to lobby. The type of climate exposure, both absolute and relative to industry peers, dictates whether firms lobby, how much they spend on lobbying, and their choice of government target. Taken together, our findings demonstrate the importance of disaggregating firm‐level perceptions of climate impacts to understand patterns in political activity.
中文
气候暴露驱动企业政治行为：来自财报电话会议和游说数据的证据
摘要
企业何时以及如何参与气候政治？我们认为，监管担忧、商业机会和物理风险会激活政策偏好与游说努力。我们基于2001年至2023年间11,705家上市公司的季度财报电话会议记录中的讨论，衡量企业在气候变化的机会、监管和物理层面的暴露。我们估计气候暴露对企业气候游说次数（广延边际）、金额（集约边际）和目标（政治实体）的影响。我们发现，暴露程度更高的公司，尤其是在机会和监管方面，更可能进行游说。气候暴露的类型——无论是绝对值还是相对于行业同侪——决定了企业是否游说、游说支出多少，以及选择何种政府目标。总体而言，我们的发现表明，有必要分解企业层面对气候影响的感知，以理解政治活动模式。
关键词
气候暴露、企业政治行为、气候政治、游说、上市公司、财报电话会议、监管风险、商业机会