The Real Effects of Mandatory CSR Disclosure on Emissions: Evidence from the GHG Reporting Program

The authors, from Carnegie Mellon University, examine the real effects of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) on electric power plants in the United States.

• When large power plants were required to disclose their carbon dioxide output, emissions fell by 7% (The effect is stronger for plants owned by publicly traded firms). But small plants, exempt from disclosure, increased emissions by 25-56%. Firms that owned both small and large plants shifted production to small ones.

• Starting in 2010, the GHGRP requires both the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by facilities emitting more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year to the Environmental Protection Agency and the public dissemination of the reported data in a comprehensive and accessible manner.

Source: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w28984/w28984.pdf