Regulating ESG Disclosure in High-Carbon Enterprises: The Case of China's Thermal Power Industry_Vol. 3 No. 3 (JEL 2026)_Journal of Economics and Law (ISSN: 3005-5768)

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Regulating ESG Disclosure in High-Carbon Enterprises: The Case of China's Thermal Power Industry

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jel.202614307

Author(s)

Yijia Luo

Affiliation(s)

College of Public Administration and Law, Hunan Agricultural University (HUNAU), Changsha, China,

Abstract

Under China's "dual carbon" goals, the legal framework for ESG disclosure by high-carbon enterprises has become central to ecological governance. ESG disclosure in the thermal power sector reveals a structural misalignment in regulatory logic: the capital market's "investor protection" paradigm is ill-equipped to address environmental public risk governance. Effective regulation thus entails a reorientation toward "environmental risk governance." Anchored in the precautionary principle, mandatory and differentiated environmental disclosure should be established as a foundational legal obligation for high-carbon enterprises. Taking the thermal power industry as a case study, this article proposes a tripartite legal framework-structural reconfiguration, accountability reinforcement, and collaborative governance-to provide institutional support for the green transition of high-carbon industries.

Keywords

ESG Information Disclosure; High-Carbon Enterprises; Thermal Power; Environmental Risk Governance

References

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