Corporate governance efficiency and climate change financial disclosure: a multi-theoretical analysis across top emitting nations

Purpose This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate governance efficiency and firms’ climate change financial disclosure in the three highest-emitting countries, along with heterogeneous regulatory contexts: India, China and the USA. Design/methodology/approach The analysis includes the top 50 firms from each country, selected based on market capitalization, over the period 2018–2019 to 2022–2023. The study uses a random-effects Tobit regression model, along with an instrumental variable-based two-stage least squares model for robustness checks. The corporate governance index has been computed following OECD methodology, and climate change financial disclosure scores have been computed through content analysis using a four-point scale technique. Findings The study finds that effective internal governance significantly improves climate disclosure in all three countries, with US firms showing the highest governance efficiency and disclosure levels. This highlights the key role of strong governance in promoting transparency, supporting stakeholder, legitimacy, agency and institutional logics theoretical perspectives. Research limitations/implications Theoretically, this study demonstrates that integrating stakeholder, legitimacy, agency and institutional logics provides a more comprehensive understanding of how governance mechanisms affect climate-related disclosure. Furthermore, viewing governance efficiency as multidimensional better explains differences in disclosure across regulatory environments. Practical implications The findings inform policymakers, corporate leaders and ESG standard-setters on the importance of strengthening internal governance systems and embedding them within international disclosure frameworks to enhance transparency and accountability. Originality/value This research offers a novel conceptualization of CG efficiency and demonstrates its critical role in shaping strategic climate disclosure practices across divergent national settings.