Research on the Impact of Carbon Accounting Information Disclosure Quality on Corporate Financing Costs ——Empirical Evidence from 2015 to 2025 under the Dual Carbon Goals

Sun Meng

Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics

Abstract：

Against the backdrop of accelerating global climate governance and the full implementation of China’s “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” strategy, carbon accounting information disclosure has gradually evolved from voluntary corporate social responsibility behavior into a core constraint for compliant operations, capital pricing and international competition. Policies such as the European Union Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the ISSB Climate Disclosure Standard (IFRS S2), China’s Measures for the Disclosure of Enterprise Environmental Information in Accordance with the Law, and Guidelines for Sustainable Development Information Disclosure of Listed Companies have jointly promoted carbon information disclosure toward mandatory, standardized and quantitative development. Based on a sample of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen that responded to the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) from 2015 to 2025, this study obtains 11,286 firm-year observations after strict screening. Using two-way fixed-effects panel regression, instrumental variable method, Heckman two-stage model, propensity score matching (PSM) and other methods, this paper systematically examines the effect, mechanism, and heterogeneity of carbon accounting information disclosure quality on corporate debt financing costs and equity financing costs. The results show that: first, carbon accounting information disclosure quality is significantly negatively correlated with corporate financing costs. Second, reducing information asymmetry, mitigating debt default risk and enhancing investor confidence are core transmission channels. Third, this negative relationship is more significant in high-carbon industries, non-state-owned enterprises, regions with high marketization, and small and medium-sized enterprises. Fourth, the conclusion remains stable after endogeneity treatment and multiple robustness tests. This paper expands the application boundaries of information asymmetry theory, signaling theory, and legitimacy theory in the field of carbon accounting, supplements long-term and full-caliber domestic empirical evidence, and provides empirical support for enterprises to optimize carbon disclosure strategies, regulators to improve disclosure standards, and financial institutions to construct green pricing systems.

Key Words：

carbon accounting information disclosure; financing cost; dual carbon goals; heterogeneity analysis