Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
私募股权与气体排放：来自发电厂的证据
Private Equity and Gas Emissions: Evidence from Electric Power Plants
摘要
We examine the effect of private equity buyouts on the environmental performance of U.S. fossil fuel power plants. Output-scaled CO 2 emissions are, on average, 4.2% lower after buyouts, predominantly because of fuel-saving improvements in production efficiency. Emission intensities decline more significantly following buyouts backed by pro-ESG private equity because of not only greater efficiency gains but also enhanced emission control. Our results suggest that while private equity firms are effective at implementing environmentally beneficial operational changes that also increase profitability, they do not have strong incentives to undertake environmentally beneficial changes that are privately costly, except for those with pro-ESG preferences.
中文摘要
本文考察私募股权收购对美国化石燃料发电厂环境绩效的影响。按产出折算的二氧化碳排放量在收购后平均降低4.2%，主要源于生产过程中燃料节约型效率改进。在具有支持ESG偏好的私募股权支持的收购之后，排放强度下降更为显著，原因不仅在于效率提升更大，还在于排放控制得到加强。我们的结果表明，私募股权公司虽能有效实施既有利于环境又能提高盈利能力的运营变革，但除具有支持ESG偏好的机构外，它们缺乏强烈激励去实施那些对自身而言成本高昂的有利于环境的变革。