STAKEHOLDER PRESSURE, CLIMATE FINANCE, AND ESG REPORTING: EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

Abstract

It is impossible to overstate the role that climate finance plays in establishing a sustainable business climate in emerging nations like Ghana and other African countries. Therefore, the goal of this research is to establish how climate finance and stakeholder pressure affect environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting in publicly traded companies in Ghana. The World Bank sourced data from 20 publicly traded businesses listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange between 2014 and 2023. The Panel VAR results showed that although there is a short-term correlation between ESG reporting and climate finance, stakeholder pressure, and green technology innovation, there is no such long-term relationship in this study. At the same time, the Hausman test described a random-effects model that revealed that climate finance and stakeholder pressure have a positive and significant effect on ESG reporting. This means that a high level of these factors leads to better ESG disclosure among traded companies in Ghana. To increase ESG reporting and overall business performance, developing countries like Ghana must gradually strengthen their climate financing systems.