Although the literature on carbon accounting is growing, studies on the valuation impact of firms’ carbon abatement investment (CAI) are scarce, and the influence of country-specific climate policies is largely underexplored. Drawing on both the benefit and cost perspectives of the resource-based view, we predict that investors’ perceptions of the net benefits of CAI are contingent on national climate policies. Based on a comparative analysis of data from the US, the UK, and Australia, we find that CAI is viewed as value-destroying by investors in countries that do not have a stringent climate change policy. In contrast, CAI enhances firm value in jurisdictions that implement such policies. Additional analyses show that investors also consider the characteristics of CAI (i.e., the size and payback period) and the act and extensiveness of voluntary CAI disclosure when evaluating firm value. Our findings fill important gaps in the literature and have critical implications for policymakers, investors, managers, and other stakeholders who are responsible for the transition to a carbon-neutral economy.

尽管关于碳核算的文献越来越多，但对企业碳减排投资 (CAI) 的估值影响的研究却很少，而且在很大程度上未充分探索特定国家/地区气候政策的影响。借鉴基于资源的观点的收益和成本观点，我们预测投资者对 CAI 净收益的看法取决于国家气候政策。基于对美国、英国和澳大利亚数据的比较分析，我们发现，在没有严格的气候变化政策的国家，投资者认为 CAI 具有破坏价值的作用。相比之下，CAI 提高了实施此类政策的司法管辖区的公司价值。额外的分析表明，投资者还考虑了 CAI 的特征（即 规模和投资回收期）以及评估公司价值时自愿披露 CAI 的行为和范围。我们的发现填补了文献中的重要空白，对决策者、投资者、管理者和其他负责向碳中和经济转型的利益相关者具有重要意义。