Linear and machine learning analysis of ESG performance and carbon emission reduction Pathways
摘要
In the context of global climate governance and the ‘dual carbon’ target, corporate ESG performance has become a key driver of the low-carbon transition. This paper uses traditional econometric models to empirically investigate how corporate ESG performance influences carbon emission reduction performance. Machine learning models are employed to analyze the non-linear relationship, revealing that ESG performance positively affects carbon emission reduction, partly by reducing the shareholding proportion of short-term institutional investors. The study’s robustness is assessed through a variety of methods, including the instrumental variable method. Additionally, a heterogeneity analysis was conducted, which revealed that the ESG effect is more significant for dual-hatted enterprises due to their decision-making efficiency advantage and for enterprises in the eastern region due to their resource endowment advantage. Moreover, machine learning techniques overcome the constraints of conventional linear models by utilizing non-linear regression for hypothesis testing. The CatBoost model quantifies the heterogeneous effects of ESG segmentation dimensions, thereby revealing that ESG’s social dimension exerts a predominant influence on emission reduction. The study confirms the catalyzing effect of corporate ESG performance in empowering emission reduction through financial channels, and conducts a machine learning-based feature importance analysis to highlight the significant roles of social and governance factors in emission reduction, which provides a scientific basis for the precise allocation of ESG resources by enterprises.