The Impact of Climate Aspirations on Corporate Carbon Performance

ABSTRACT Corporations play a crucial role in global carbon emissions and are expected to implement effective strategies to mitigate their environmental impact. This study examines the extent to which corporate climate change aspirations influence carbon performance. Employing content analysis, we extracted environmental data from ESG reports of 29 firms operating in high‐ and low‐carbon sectors. Hypotheses were tested using Bayesian regression analysis. Our findings indicate that a well‐structured carbon strategy and ambitious emission reduction targets significantly decrease corporate carbon emissions. However, climate expenditures have only a marginal effect, whereas climate risk identification does not exhibit a statistically significant impact. These results highlight the need for policymakers to encourage firms to set ambitious and transparent climate commitments, integrating them into long‐term business strategies. Additionally, expanding taxonomy‐aligned reporting standards could enhance corporate accountability and accelerate progress towards decarbonisation. This study contributes to the literature on corporate sustainability, strategic environmental management and carbon governance by providing empirical evidence on the effectiveness of climate change aspirations in shaping carbon performance. Robustness checks confirm the reliability of the findings, offering valuable insights for both researchers and practitioners.