The next online public lecture in this series will be given by Zacharias Sautner of University of Zurich and ECGI on the topic, “Corporate Climate Lobbying"
A frequently voiced concern is that corporate lobbying activities, at least in part, hinder the implementation of ambitious climate policies. We quantify corporate anti- and pro-climate lobbying expenses of U.S.-listed firms and identify the largest corporate lobbyists and their motives. Firms spend on average $277k per year on anti-climate lobbying ($185k on pro-climate lobbying). Anti-climate lobbyists have more carbon-intensive business models, while pro-climate lobbyists exhibit more green innovation. Firms that spend more on anti-climate lobbying earn higher returns because of a risk channel. Our results align with the increasingly common investor view that anti-climate lobbying constitutes an investment risk.
This lecture will be moderated by Marco Becht, Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Université libre de Bruxelles and Director of ECGI.
Lecture date and time: Wednesday, 3 December 2025 | 12:00 – 13:00 EDT (18:00 – 19:00 CET)
The public lecture series is organised by the Kelley School of Business Institute for Corporate Governance (ICG+E), in partnership with Ethical Systems and ECGI.
Programme
Lecture: Corporate Climate Lobbying
Moderator
Speaker(s)
Speakers
Zacharias Sautner
Marco Becht
Presentations

Professor Zacharias Sautner
Professor of Sustainable Finance
Department of Finance, University of Zurich
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