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Optimizing portfolios under carbon risk constraints: Setting effective constraints to favor green investments

An Chen, Leonard Gerick and Zhuo Jin

Energy Economics, 2025, vol. 148, issue C

Abstract: Climate change and its concomitant adaptations pose significant challenges for companies and confront them with new risks. Investors must consider these risks when shaping their investment portfolio. This study investigates portfolio optimization under a carbon risk constraint in an expected utility framework. To illustrate the implications of the carbon risk constraint, we consider a financial market with only one risk-free and two risky assets, one green and one brown. We identify conditions under which the imposition of the carbon risk constraint leads to an increase in the green investment and a decrease in the brown investment. Surprisingly, an increased investment in the brown asset can also be optimal under certain conditions. Further, we employ different carbon risk metrics, such as carbon intensity and Brown-Green-Score, to compare the resulting optimal portfolios.

Keywords: Sustainable investing; Climate change; Carbon risk management; Utility maximization; Environmental risk constraint; Carbon risk metric (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G11 G41 M14 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:148:y:2025:i:c:s014098832500461x

DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108634

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Energy Economics is currently edited by R. S. J. Tol, Beng Ang, Lance Bachmeier, Perry Sadorsky, Ugur Soytas and J. P. Weyant

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