The effect of China's public climate concern on ESG disclosure

Using a textual analysis approach, we investigate the impact of public climate concern on corporate ESG disclosure. The results reveal a significant negative correlation between the two. Our mechanistic analysis indicates that the exacerbation of public climate concerns amplifies firms' risk exposure, which confirms the negative effect on ESG performance. The negative effects of public climate concerns on ESG disclosure is heightened for companies with weaker CEO hometown identity, higher resource costs, lower environmental regulatory pressures, and colder climates in northern China. These results emphasize the significance of public climate concerns as a critical external factor affecting corporate ESG disclosure.