In the context of addressing climate change, the uncertainty of climate policies has intensified the environmental and regulatory risks faced by enterprises, forcing them to adjust their strategies for fulfilling ESG responsibilities in pursuit of sustainable development. This paper uses panel data from listed non-financial enterprises on China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets from 2011 to 2022, employing a fixed-effects panel model to examine the impact of climate policy uncertainty on corporate ESG performance. The findings indicate that climate policy uncertainty significantly hampers the ESG performance of enterprises. The mechanism analysis reveals that climate policy uncertainty negatively affects ESG performance by deepening corporate financing constraints and increasing short-term financial performance. The heterogeneity analysis shows that in terms of ownership structure, the negative impact of climate policy uncertainty on the ESG performance of state-owned enterprises is relatively weaker. In terms of industry heterogeneity, climate policy uncertainty suppresses the ESG performance of enterprises in technology-intensive industries. From a regional perspective, climate policy uncertainty has a stronger inhibitory effect on the ESG performance of enterprises in eastern China. This study provides valuable insights for both national climate policy formulation and corporate efforts to enhance ESG performance.

As climate change intensifies, climate-related policy instruments have become essential tools for governments to mitigate climate risks. The formulation of such policies typically involves balancing economic growth and ecological goals while ensuring fairness and feasibility, often resulting in frequent policy adjustments. Drawing on panel data from A-share listed firms in China between 2008 and 2023, this study conducts a comprehensive investigation into how climate policy uncertainty affects corporate green transformation, with a particular focus on the underlying mechanisms. The empirical evidence shows that climate policy uncertainty serves as a significant catalyst in promoting firms’ green upgrading. Mechanism analysis indicates that this uncertainty has enhanced enterprises’ environmental awareness, encouraged their green investment, and promoted strategic planning oriented towards environmental sustainability. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive effect is especially pronounced in state-owned enterprises, labor-intensive industries, and firms exposed to high levels of climate risk. This study enriches the understanding of corporate behavioral responses under climate-related policy uncertainty and offers practical implications for optimizing policy design to support sustainable transformation in the corporate sector.

A large number of studies have confirmed that oil speculation has played a vital role in oil price fluctuation in recent years. However, the heterogeneous impact of oil financialization on oil price fluctuation has not received enough attention. Based on time series data from January 1990 to October 2021, this paper adopts the Time-Varying Parameter Vector Auto-Regression (TVP-VAR) model and the Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) method to study the heterogeneous impact of oil financialization on oil price fluctuation from three perspectives: different periods, different frequencies, and different time points of major events. The research results are as follows. First, the impact of oil financialization on oil price fluctuation in different periods is heterogeneous in terms of fluctuation amplitude and intensity. During major events such as the financial crisis or the COVID pandemic, the impact of oil financialization on oil price fluctuation is volatile and intense. Second, the impact of oil financialization on the oil price fluctuation of different frequencies is mainly reflected in the direction and duration. Oil financialization mainly promotes high-frequency oil price fluctuation in the short term, and it mainly suppresses low-frequency oil price fluctuation in the long term. Third, the impact of oil financialization on oil price fluctuation is heterogeneous in terms of duration, intensity, and transmission speed at different time points of major events.

The sustainability of local implicit debt reflects its effect on promoting economic growth. By analyzing the sustainability of local implicit debt, valuable insights can be gained to support the high-quality economic development of relevant countries. This study, using provincial panel data from China spanning 2006 to 2020, constructs a measurement method for local implicit debt using the MIMIC model and investigates the sustainability of local implicit debt from an economic growth perspective. The results show that local implicit debt has a rising trend but strong economic tournament pressure; an imperfect financial system and stricter financial regulation will affect the scale of local implicit debt. The economic effects of small-scale local implicit debt are not significant; however, when the scale of local implicit debt exceeds CNY 123.88 billion, it can have a significant stimulating effect on regional economic growth. Local implicit debt has a significant sustainability and can significantly drive regional economic growth, with the driving effect being more pronounced in the western regions and at higher thresholds.

Assessing the capacity conditions that support agricultural responses to climate-related risks is important for strengthening agricultural systems and ensuring food security. Using panel data from 31 Chinese provinces during 2011–2024, this study introduces the WSR methodology and constructs a capacity-oriented ACR index comprising resistance, adaptation, and transformative capacities. It examines the spatio-temporal evolution, spatial effects, convergence, and nonlinear driving mechanisms of the capacity-oriented ACR index. The results show that: (1) China’s capacity-oriented ACR index increased from 0.3318 in 2011 to 0.4525 in 2024, with higher levels in eastern and central China and lower levels in western China. Provinces with higher ACR index scores were concentrated in the Major Grain-Producing Areas (MGPA). (2) Spatial differences in ACR index scores were mainly attributable to grain functional areas, with the largest gap between the MGPA and the Balanced Grain Production and Consumption Areas (BGPCA). (3) ACR index scores exhibited significant spatial dependence, convergence, and positive spillover effects nationally and in most grain functional areas, whereas the Major Grain-Consuming Areas (MGCA) had not formed a stable convergence trend. (4) Multiple factors were nonlinearly associated with ACR index scores, with dominant drivers varying across grain functional areas. These findings support differentiated regional governance and optimized resource allocation. The findings reflect China’s specific institutional context, and the ACR index captures broad capacity conditions supporting agricultural responses to climate-related risks, which may limit generalizability.