Stock Price Effects of Climate Activism: Evidence from the First Global Climate Strike

46 Pages Posted: 24 Mar 2020 Last revised: 18 Jun 2021

See all articles by Stefano Ramelli

Stefano Ramelli

University of St. Gallen - School of Finance; Swiss Finance Institute

Elisa Ossola

University of Milano-Bicocca

Michela Rancan

Polytechnic University of Marche

Date Written: June 18, 2021

Abstract

The first Global Climate Strike on March 15, 2019, represented a historical turning point in climate activism. We investigate the cross-section of stock price reactions to this event for a large sample of European firms. The strike's unanticipated success caused a decrease in the stock prices of carbon-intensive firms. The effect appears to be driven by the increased public attention to climate activism. Furthermore, after the first Global Climate Strike financial analysts downgraded their longer-term earnings forecasts on carbon-intensive firms.

Keywords: Climate change, climate strikes, stock returns, environmental performance, public attention, earnings forecasts.

JEL Classification: Q01, G14, G40, G23

Suggested Citation

Ramelli, Stefano and Ossola, Elisa and Rancan, Michela, Stock Price Effects of Climate Activism: Evidence from the First Global Climate Strike (June 18, 2021). Journal of Corporate Finance, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3544669 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3544669

Stefano Ramelli (Contact Author)

University of St. Gallen - School of Finance ( email )

Unterer Graben 21
St. Gallen, 9000
Switzerland

Swiss Finance Institute ( email )

c/o University of Geneva
40, Bd du Pont-d'Arve
CH-1211 Geneva 4
Switzerland

Elisa Ossola

University of Milano-Bicocca ( email )

Belgium

Michela Rancan

Polytechnic University of Marche ( email )

Piazzale Martelli 8
Ancona, 18039
Italy

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