Disclosure on climate change : analysing the UK ETS effects

Peer reviewedPostprin

Shifts in modes of governance and sustainable development in the Brazilian oil sector

This article discusses shifts in modes of governance in the Brazilian oil sector over a 60-year period. On the basis of Driessen et al.'s (2012) framework, we discuss the impact of these shifts on sustainable development. Our results suggest that changes in modes of governance were driven by regulation and mostly associated with shifts in both actors and institutional features but that the underlying rationale of prioritising economic outcomes remained unaffected. The results also confirm that a central governance structure remained in place over time and co-existed in different modes of governance. Petrobras was the backbone of this structure and instrumental in empowering and disempowering non-state actors. This article stresses that a mode of governance furthering sustainable development should promote interactions of large numbers of actors and may require active participation of Petrobras to encourage rationales that support improvements in social and environmental domains

Shifts in modes of governance and sustainable development in the Brazilian oil sector

The authors are grateful for the resources received from CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. In English: National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development). The authors would also like to thank the School of Management at the University of St. Andrews and the Accountancy Department at the Universidade de Brasília for the academic visits to these institutions, which allowed the development of this paper. Finally, the authors would like to express their gratitude to the Accounting and Finance group at the University of Glasgow for supporting this research.Peer reviewedPostprin

Corporate response to climate change:language, power and symbolic construction

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to explore corporate communications related to climate change in both a voluntary and mandatory setting. Adopting a critical perspective, the paper examines how companies who participated in the voluntary UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) and the UK Government’s mandatory Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) positioned themselves within the climate change debate. In particular, our analysis draws attention to how companies, through their communicative practice, helped to constitute and reproduce the structure of the field in which they operate. Design/Methodology/Approach – A context-sensitive discursive analysis of 99 stand-alone reports produced by companies participating in the UK ETS and CRC over a nine-year period. Our analysis is informed by Thompson’s (1990) depth-hermeneutic framework, which mediates the connection between linguistic strategies and the institutional field. Findings - Our analysis suggests that companies tended to adopt particular linguistic strategies in their communications related to climate change. For example, the strategy of ‘rationalization’ was employed in order to emphasise the organisational ‘opportunities’ resulting from climate change; in this sense, companies sought to exploit climate crises in order to advance a doctrine that endorsed market-based solutions. A noteworthy finding was that in the mandatory CRC period, there was a notable shift towards the employment of the strategies that Thompson (1990) refers to as ‘differentiation’ - whereby companies attempted to displace responsibility by presenting either government or suppliers as barriers to progress. Originality/Value – This paper explores how disclosure on climate change evolved while organisations participate in voluntary and compulsory climate change initiatives. In this respect, the analysis is informed by the social and political context in which the disclosure was produced

Mapping accounting literature on climate finance:Identifying research gaps and reflections on future research

Purpose: This study aims to investigate climate finance literature to understand whether and how research in this area is explored from an accounting perspective.Design/methodology/approach: This study conducts a meta-analysis and narrative review of climate finance.Findings: The issue of climate finance has received increasing attention in recent years because of international negotiations on climate change. The volume of literature examining climate finance has grown, particularly from a finance perspective. The literature analysed is diverse, using unique methodological and theoretical differences and providing insights into the effectiveness of policies and the impact of climate finance on capital markets, economic growth and the green economy. However, in spite of growing concerns regarding the accounting and reporting issues in climate finance, little attention has been paid to this topic from an accounting, accountability, audit or corporate disclosure perspective.Originality/value: This study contributes to climate finance research by integrating insights from a dispersed and emerging body of literature by conducting meta-analysis and narrative review. Meta-analysis enables us to map the development of this specific literature and how it has changed over the years, whereas a narrative review serves as a basis for identifying research gaps and developing avenues for future research in accounting, accountability, audit and corporate disclosure.</div

Mapping accounting literature on climate finance:Identifying research gaps and reflections on future research

Purpose: This study aims to investigate climate finance literature to understand whether and how research in this area is explored from an accounting perspective.Design/methodology/approach: This study conducts a meta-analysis and narrative review of climate finance.Findings: The issue of climate finance has received increasing attention in recent years because of international negotiations on climate change. The volume of literature examining climate finance has grown, particularly from a finance perspective. The literature analysed is diverse, using unique methodological and theoretical differences and providing insights into the effectiveness of policies and the impact of climate finance on capital markets, economic growth and the green economy. However, in spite of growing concerns regarding the accounting and reporting issues in climate finance, little attention has been paid to this topic from an accounting, accountability, audit or corporate disclosure perspective.Originality/value: This study contributes to climate finance research by integrating insights from a dispersed and emerging body of literature by conducting meta-analysis and narrative review. Meta-analysis enables us to map the development of this specific literature and how it has changed over the years, whereas a narrative review serves as a basis for identifying research gaps and developing avenues for future research in accounting, accountability, audit and corporate disclosure.</div