How Does Carbon Trading Enhance Corporate Value?

Based on the data of energy-intensive listed A-share companies from2011-2019,this paper investigates the empirical evidence and impact mechanism of carbon trading on firm value with the help of a quasi-natural experimental scenario of implementing a pilot carbon trading policy in China.The results of the baseline regressions confirm that carbon trading can significantly enhance the firm value of energy-intensive listed companies.The results of the heterogeneity analysis indicate that the implementation of carbon trading has a more significant effect on enhancing the firm value of non-SOEs,large and medium-sized enterprises,and highly polluting enterprises than SOEs,small enterprises,and non-highly polluting enterprises.The paper further analyzes the impact of policy differences between different carbon trading pilots on firm value.The results show that the implementation of both the mixed allocation model(free and auction)and the strict regulation model can further enhance firm value,with the mixed model affecting firm value by directly improving firm profitability,while the strict regulation promotes firm competitiveness through green innovation.The findings of this paper are important references for enhancing the corporate value of emission-controlled enterprises,achieving carbon peak and carbon neutral targets,and promoting high-quality and coordinated economic and environmental development in the carbon trading mechanism environment.