Post Date: 18 May 2026

Corporate Sustainability: Climate Risk Exposure and Governance Equality Measures

Abstract:

This thesis investigates firm-level vulnerabilities and governance dynamics in the face of contemporary economic and environmental challenges through two chapters. Chapter 1 examines the short-term financial impact of acute climate risks, specifically typhoons and extreme rainstorms, on publicly listed firms in Hong Kong from 2012 to 2025. Results show that smaller and less mature firms suffer greater market value losses due to limited diversification and resilience, while ESG performance scores fail to mitigate these effects, underscoring the inadequacy of current ESG metrics in capturing resilience to acute climate events. Chapter 2 explores governance equality in U.S. mergers and acquisitions between 2004 and 2024, using OLS regression to identify determinants of equitable post transaction structures. Findings reveal that financing method, deal premium, and growth prospects jointly shape equality outcomes, with fully stock financed deals favoring equality provisions, while higher premiums reduce their likelihood. Whereas larger post merger market capitalization is positively associated with substantive equality provisions. Together, these chapters highlight firms’ financial vulnerability to climate disasters and the importance of transparent governance equality in M&A, offering insights for managers, investors, regulators, and policymakers on adaptation, disclosure, and risk management.