As global greenhouse gas emissions show little sign of slowing down, the United Nations has warned that the global average temperature could rise by 2.8°C compared to pre-industrial levels. The 1.5°C temperature rise containment target set under the 2015 Paris Agreement is also projected to be missed.

On the 21st (local time), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) projected that if countries maintain their current climate policies, the global average temperature will rise by 2.8°C compared to pre-industrial levels by the end of the 21st century. This is due to greenhouse gas emission reductions falling short of expectations. Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion last year increased at a pace similar to the past decade. However, total emissions decreased by 100 million tons compared to 2024 due to a reduction in emissions from wildfires. To achieve the 1.5°C containment target, emissions must be reduced by 45% by 2035, but national climate plans fall short at an 11% to 15% reduction, leaving a significant gap.

Amidst this situation, a study has shown that a company's response to climate change affects its cost of capital. According to an analysis of financial data and climate disclosures of about 8,000 listed companies worldwide from 2016 to 2023 by the International Transition Plan Network (ITPN), companies that fully disclosed all major items of their climate transition plans had an annual effective borrowing rate that was an average of 0.8 percentage points lower than those that did not. This translates to a drop in the average borrowing rate from 6.84% to 6.04%, representing a relative decrease of 11.7%.

The difference becomes even more pronounced when converted into corporate interest burdens. The median debt scale of these companies was $1.25 billion (approx. 1.65 trillion KRW). For a company holding this level of debt, a 0.8 percentage point reduction in borrowing rates calculates to an annual interest cost savings of $10 million (approx. 13.2 billion KRW).

When companies went beyond planning disclosures and actually implemented greenhouse gas reductions, their interest burden decreased even further. In advanced European countries, companies that disclosed they were pursuing greenhouse gas reduction targets as planned experienced a borrowing rate the following year that was 0.5 percentage points lower than those that did not. Differences also emerged in the stock market. The stocks of companies successfully implementing their reduction targets achieved an average benchmark excess return of 0.582 percentage points higher in the following year compared to other companies.

However, some opinions suggest that climate transition plan disclosures should not necessarily be viewed as a direct factor boosting corporate profits and stock returns. Nicola Ranger, a professor at the London School of Economics (LSE), noted, "It may reflect the fact that companies with higher disclosure levels possess superior management capability and transparency."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]