Green actions in policy fog: Climate policy uncertainty and corporate carbon emission

With the intensification of global climate change, the low carbon transformation of industrial enterprises is central to China's goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Based on data from Chinese listed companies from 2011 to 2022, this paper examines the impact of climate policy uncertainty (CPU) on carbon emission intensity (CEI). The results show that enterprises will lower carbon emissions proactively to hedge against climate policy risks. CPU reduces CEI through urbanization and digital transformation. The public environmental concern, corporate media attention and firms' green strategy orientation further strengthen this effect. These findings provide insights for policymakers to design guiding policies and enterprises to improve their strategic resilience.