Title: Greenhouse gas disclosures: evidence from the EU response to Kyoto

Authors: Martin Freedman; Ora Freedman; A.J. Stagliano

Addresses: Department of Accounting, College of Business and Economics, Towson University, 8000 York Rd., Towson, MD 21252, USA. ' Brown School of Business and Leadership, Stevenson University, 10945 Boulevard Circle, Owings Mills, MD 21117, USA. ' Department of Accounting, Ervian K Haub School of Business, Saint Joseph's University, 5600 City Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19131, USA

Abstract: In 2005, the European Union instituted the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol by implementing a carbon allocation scheme (cap and trade) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Prior to 2005, the Scandinavian countries had imposed a carbon tax to reduce carbon emissions. In this study, the EU experience with cap and trade and carbon taxes is compared concluding that neither endeavour was particularly successful in reducing GHG emissions. Disclosures made by firms that were impacted by the GHG emission reduction schemes are then examined. After controlling for size and industry group, firms from the UK and firms that just participated in cap and trade made significantly greater disclosures.

Keywords: greenhouse gas disclosures; Kyoto Protocol; carbon taxes; EU carbon cap; carbon trading; environmental disclosures; carbon emissions; greenhouse gases; GHG emissions; European Union.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCA.2012.047362

International Journal of Critical Accounting, 2012 Vol.4 No.3, pp.237 - 264

Published online: 07 Aug 2014 *

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