Climate Change Disclosure in Egyptian firms and its Key-Determinants Following the Implementation of Financial Regulatory Authority Decree No.108
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Winter 1-31-2024
Abstract
This study measures the extent of climate change disclosure by publicly traded firms on the Egyptian stock exchange, a leading Arab and African emerging market. This is following the issuance of Decree No. 108 of 2021 by the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), in accordance with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The study further scrutinises the main drivers of such disclosure to evaluate the extent to which TCFD recommendations are effective in emerging markets and whether applying them on a mandatory basis matters. Via content analysis, the annual reports of 33 publicly traded firms were scrutinised during the period from 2021 to 2022. The analysis examines governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets as the main areas of focus, with the objective of computing the cumulative climate change disclosure (CCD) scores. Ordinary least squares regression is employed in determining the factors that drive the extent of disclosure. The regression analysis underlines that belonging to high carbon impact industries, foreign-ownership, foreign-directors, board-size, and listing on S&P/EGX ESG index as key determinants that have a significant and positive impact on the level of CCD. However, it is observed that the presence of independent board members has a significant negative impact on the level of disclosure. The results are consistent with the notions of the integrative theoretical foundation proposed (stakeholder, shareholder, legitimacy and human capital theories).The study findings have significant implications for policymakers, regulators, international bodies, investors, accounting standards setters, and corporations that assess the strategic significance of climate change disclosure levels and their determinants. Further, the study findings contribute to the development of policies and regulations that promote green investments.
Recommended Citation
Salah, W. and Hassaan, M. (2024), " Climate Change Disclosure in Egyptian firms and its Key-Determinants Following the Implementation of Financial Regulatory Authority Decree No.108", Egyptian Journal of Commercial Studies, Vol. 48 No. 1, pp. 1-40.