PB 2/2021: Investors Face Challenges with Corporate Carbon Emissions Data – Call for a Mandatory Disclosure Regulation
In this policy brief, we discuss the importance, availability, and quality of carbon data to investors who wish to mitigate climate change. In the absence of mandatory reporting, about half of all emitting companies self-report their emissions, and for the remaining half, data providers estimate emissions data. In our study, we conclude that estimated carbon data can lead to ineffective investor actions whose purpose was to moderate climate change. Mandatory carbon disclosure, tailored to the requirements of investors, is urgently needed to improve the availability and quality of carbon emissions data. Only then, investors can set effective incentives for companies to reduce their carbon emissions.