Previous studies argue that the relationships between clean/green and dirty energy assets are time-varying, but there is a lack of evidence on the hedging ability of clean energy stocks and green bonds for dirty assets, such as crude oil and an energy stock index exchange traded fund (ETF), and the portfolio implications. Furthermore, potential drivers of the dynamics of the hedge portfolio returns are still unknown. To address these research gaps, the authors provide an extensive analysis of the hedging ability of clean/green assets against two dirty energy assets (crude oil prices and energy ETF) using daily data from 3 January 2012 to 29 November 2019. Using corrected dynamic conditional correlation models, the authors model correlation and then compute hedge ratios and hedging effectiveness, which all seem to vary with time. The results from hedging effectiveness indicate that investors should follow a dynamic hedging strategy and that clean energy stocks are more effective hedge than green bonds, especially for crude oil. The application of regression analyses shows that the implied volatilities of US equities and crude oil as well as US dollar index have a negative impact on the hedge portfolio returns, whereas gold prices and inflation have a positive impact.

The present research is conducted on the Chinese corporate sector and raises the basic questions associated with the adoption and implementation of corporate disclosure practices such as SDGs. The sample for this research consisted of 100 Chinese companies, which are listed in the Shanghai Stock Exchange from 2016 to 2018. For this purpose, content analysis is developed. More specifically, a quantitative approach is applied to quantify and identify certain contents or words in the given text. Our results show that Chinese companies seem to be more focused on certain aspects of the UN SDGs at the cost of others, but the overall situation is, at best, not encouraging. The focus of attention of Chinese companies seems to be infrastructure development, industrial innovation, and economic growth, along with the provision of a dignified and respectable working environment, affordable and clean energy, and peace, justice, and strong institutions. The results can be used as guidelines by Chinese companies to determine the actual presence or absence of SDGs implementation inside the process of value creation as an integral part of their practices about corporate disclosure. The main contribution of this research relates to the analysis of the adoption and implementation efforts to report SDGs and the contribution of such reporting towards the fulfillment of the UN Agenda 2030. This can be of interest to researchers working on the given topic. It is of utmost importance for government policymakers and corporate decision-makers, who want to support companies that are contributing towards the achievement and adaptation of SDGs as part of their overall objectives.

Using a panel cointegration model developed based on the data extracted from the World Bank indicators, this study quantified the relationship between carbon emissions, energy consumption, economic growth, and trade openness in sub-Saharan African countries. It discovered from our analysis that there exists a long-run causality association amongst ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ emissions, energy consumption, economic growth, and trade openness. The study noted the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) in the panel using the square term for trade openness; it was found to have a negative impact, thus trade in the long run will somewhat decrease the environmental pollution in this region. The study results imply that there should be stringent policies and rigorous enforcement in sub-Saharan African to ensure sustainable growth without associative environmental issues.

This study examined the strength of CEOs’ influence on CSR in Chinese listed companies. The companies chosen belonged to the non-financial sector and were listed in the Shanghai stock exchange from 2010 to 2019. The data was extracted from audited annual reports of companies including the director’s report, chairman’s statements, and notes to financial statements. We applied OLS regression as a baseline methodology to determine the extent and impact of CEO power on CSR disclosures. The results indicated significantly negative relationship between the CEOs’ power and CSR disclosure. Our results showed that separate roles of chairman and CEO can reduce agency problems and increase the CSR disclosures. This study is of importance for regulators, as it enforces the view that regulators and policymakers should continue efforts to improve corporate governance practices and CSR reporting in China, as these changes will not only improve the performance of companies but also befit society at large.

The development of the resource-based industry has obvious negative externality, and the government’s environmental regulation on the resource-based industry will force the technological innovation of the resource-based industry. This paper selects the panel data of 12 resource-based industries in China from 2003 to 2019 and tests the impact of environmental regulation on technological innovation of resource-based industries by constructing the econometric model. The results show that environmental regulation can promote the technological innovation of resource-based industries. Specifically, environmental regulation has no significant positive impact on the immediate product innovation of 12 resource-based industries in China, but it has a significant positive impact on the product innovation lagging behind one period and two periods. Environmental regulation has no significant impact on the process innovation of current period, but has a significant positive impact on the process innovation of lagging one period. Industrial scale has a significant positive impact on product innovation of resource-based industries. The input of scientific and technological activity personnel has a significant positive impact on the product innovation of current period, and in the long run, it promotes both product innovation and process innovation. On this basis, this paper puts forward the relevant measures and suggestions for the formulation of environmental regulation policies. The government departments should subdivide the resource-based industries, formulate environmental rules and policies by classification, encourage industrial enterprises to carry out technological innovation, reasonably implement fiscal and taxation policy tools and increase the investment in R&D funds, and improve the training mechanism of scientific and technological personnel.