Measurement, verification, and reporting of carbon emissions is essential for climate management. However, research on carbon assurance is limited. To address this gap, we investigate the association between climate uncertainty and voluntary carbon assurance. We conceptualize and operationalize four dimensions of micro-level climate uncertainty: innovation, management and performance, supply chain, and managerial perception uncertainty. We find that all four proxies of climate uncertainty are positively associated with the adoption of voluntary carbon assurance and the positive associations are moderated by a country-level environmental, social, and governance reporting mandate and the industry. Finally, we document that voluntary carbon assurance impacts the valuation of certain dimensions of climate uncertainty. Overall, our study is among the first to document empirical evidence of the nature, characteristics, and dimensions of climate uncertainty and its impact on firms’ carbon assurance. The knowledge will help companies strengthen their capacity to manage the green transition toward carbon neutrality.

中文翻译：

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气候不确定性和碳保证的全球研究


碳排放的测量、验证和报告对于气候管理至关重要。然而，关于碳保证的研究有限。为了解决这一差距，我们研究了气候不确定性与自愿碳保证之间的关联。我们概念化并实施了微观层面气候不确定性的四个维度：创新、管理和绩效、供应链以及管理感知不确定性。我们发现，气候不确定性的所有四个指标都与自愿碳保证的采用呈正相关，并且这种正相关性受到国家级环境、社会和治理报告任务以及行业的调节。最后，我们记录了自愿碳保证影响对气候不确定性某些方面的评估。总体而言，我们的研究是最早记录气候不确定性的性质、特征和维度及其对企业碳保证影响的经验证据的研究之一。这些知识将帮助企业增强管理向碳中和的绿色转型的能力。