Climate change is a critical global challenge affecting ecosystems and societies and shaping environmental policies and corporate financial performance, as firms must adapt to regulatory pressures, investor expectations, and climate-related risks. Climate change influences financial markets, corporate risk assessments, and policy decisions, making it a critical factor in economic and business research. The company’s approach to strategic risk management significantly impacts decision-making, reflecting its ability to maintain financial performance while engaging in strategic risk-taking and effective management. The paper aims to analyse the extent to which corporate social responsibility (CSR) can contribute to reducing the risks generated by climate change at the company level, assessing the link between CSR practices and companies’ financial vulnerability to climate risks. Our research approach aimed to investigate the impact of climate change and corporate finance, considering risk management and strategic response. Our methodological approach is quantitative, critical, and analytical and includes two advanced econometric procedures: robust regression with Huber and biweight iterations and network analysis based on Gaussian graphical models (GGM). The dataset comprises over 300 European companies operating in the energy sector with official data collected from the LSEG Data & Analytics module for 2024. Through the fundamental indicators selected for each dimension, we capture the implications of green investment and climate change features on corporate finance dimensions, in a sustainable framework, focusing on risk management and strategic response representative credentials. The main results reveal different yet extremely significant climate change and green credentials impacts for the corporate finance representative group of European companies in the energy sector. These impacts have profound implications for risk management and firms’ strategic responses, requiring specific policy interventions alongside tailored strategies. Furthermore, the transition to a low-carbon environment poses significant risks for financial institutions, as their success depends mainly on the ability of the firms in their portfolios to adapt to these changes. Analysing companies’ strategic responses to these climate risks can inform estimates of transition risk and provide a solid basis for assessing financial exposure. Also, applying flexible frameworks for assessing transition risks will facilitate a better understanding of how firms may evolve in the context of climate change.