Publication:
Individual climate action and consumer credit risk
Abstract
Climate change is the greatest threat facing humanity with profound implications for all countries and all facets of our lives. Research indicates that the collective pace of action is inadequate to systemically reduce global emissions to net zero by mid-century, a legally binding commitment pledged by 196 member-countries at the UN Climate Change Conference in 2015. While concerted efforts have been taking place within governments and corporations in various countries around the world, individual participation in climate action remains a burgeoning key for filling the gap and propelling societies to meet their proportionate responsibilities. Given the mass utilization of consumer financial products, a proof of individual climate action qualification requisite installed by banks and financial services companies would influence participation at an unprecedented scale and speed. Individual activities such as composting, recycling, and curbing/offsetting personal emissions (carbon footprints) inherently offers insight to people's overall discipline and responsibility. A meta-analysis would reveal its influential factors to and correlations with financial responsibility. Credit-purposed individual climate action data would directly compliment current risk assessment processes (such as income verification and credit risk analysis) for credit cards, loans, and mortgages. This study highlights the relationship between individual climate action and consumer credit risk. Through survey data and interviews conducted in San Francisco Bay Area, greater New York City, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, findings indicate that people who actively engage in climate action are generally more financially responsible by virtue of their financial and time capacity. Furthermore, based on a content analysis and supported with discernable climate engagement propensity, an increase in financial and/or time capacity shall likely influence individual climate action for conscientious working-class people. Finally, a strong correlation was found between financial irresponsibility and climate inaction, suggesting that a climate action requisite for would-be consumers of financial products would bear no negative credit risk and its inherent disciplinary effects may render increased financial orderliness amongst existing borrowers.
Keywords
Climate action , Credit risk analysis , Environmental inclusion , Financial services , Positive credit data , Prosocial behavior , Sustainable Development Goals , Volunteering , Project paper (MBA)
Citation
Sayed, H. A. (2023). Individual climate action and consumer credit risk (Master dissertation). INCEIF, Kuala Lumpur. Retrieved from https://ikr.inceif.org/handle/INCEIF/3928
Publisher
INCEIF
Available in PDF format. Kindly email to kmc@inceif.edu.my to access the item