The growing urgency to tackle climate change has led to the development of economic and regulatory instruments aimed at internalizing the environmental costs of CO₂ emissions. Among these, carbon markets and carbon pricing mechanisms are now central pillars of global climate policy and have the potential to transform sustainability into a measurable economic variable. This thesis analyzes the functioning of carbon markets, with a specific focus on the European Union's Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS), and explores their financial and strategic implications for businesses. The aim is to understand how carbon pricing influences investment decisions, corporate valuation, and risk management, transforming an environmental obligation into a factor of competitiveness and innovation. After illustrating the theoretical foundations and regulatory evolution of the ETS system, the research delves into the progressive “financialization” of carbon credits, analyzed as hybrid instruments between commodities and financial assets. The effects of these instruments on volatility, credit ratings, cost of capital, and corporate management strategies are examined, highlighting how climate performance is now integrated into economic and financial valuation models. The second part of the thesis presents a case study dedicated to Tesla, Inc., which explores the impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025, a US reform that drastically reduced incentives for electric vehicles and environmental credit mechanisms. The case demonstrates how excessive dependence on public policy can become a regulatory risk that compromises profitability and financial stability. The results highlight that the success of the green transition depends not only on technological innovation, but also on institutional stability and the consistency of climate policies. For businesses, this implies the need to integrate carbon risk management into decision-making processes by adopting diversification and transparent disclosure strategies, while for policymakers, the challenge is to ensure regulatory continuity and the credibility of carbon markets. In conclusion, the research highlights how carbon pricing is now a strategic lever for economic and financial transformation, a mechanism capable of combining environmental objectives and competitiveness, provided that businesses and governments develop systems that are resilient to political and market uncertainties.
La crescente urgenza di affrontare i cambiamenti climatici ha portato allo sviluppo di strumenti economici e regolatori volti a internalizzare i costi ambientali delle emissioni di CO₂. Tra questi, i mercati del carbonio e i meccanismi di carbon pricing rappresentano oggi i pilastri centrali delle politiche climatiche globali e sono in grado di trasformare la sostenibilità in una variabile economica misurabile. La tesi analizza il funzionamento dei mercati del carbonio, con un focus specifico sull'Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) dell'Unione Europea, e ne esplora le implicazioni finanziarie e strategiche per le imprese. L'obiettivo è comprendere come la fissazione di un prezzo del carbonio influenzi le decisioni di investimento, la valutazione aziendale e la gestione del rischio, trasformando un obbligo ambientale in un fattore di competitività e innovazione. Dopo aver illustrato i fondamenti teorici e l’evoluzione normativa del sistema ETS, la ricerca approfondisce la progressiva "finanziarizzazione" dei crediti di carbonio, analizzati come strumenti ibridi tra materie prime e asset finanziari. Si esaminano gli effetti di tali strumenti sulla volatilità, sul rating creditizio, sul costo del capitale e sulle strategie di gestione aziendale, evidenziando come la performance climatica sia ormai integrata nei modelli di valutazione economico-finanziaria. La seconda parte della tesi presenta un caso di studio dedicato a Tesla, Inc., che esplora gli impatti del One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) del 2025, una riforma statunitense che ha ridotto drasticamente gli incentivi per i veicoli elettrici e i meccanismi di credito ambientale. Il caso dimostra come l'eccessiva dipendenza dalle politiche pubbliche possa trasformarsi in un rischio regolatorio che compromette la redditività e la stabilità finanziaria. I risultati mettono in luce che il successo della transizione verde dipende non solo dall'innovazione tecnologica, ma anche dalla stabilità istituzionale e dalla coerenza delle politiche climatiche. Per le imprese ciò implica la necessità di integrare la gestione del rischio di carbonio nei processi decisionali adottando strategie di diversificazione e di disclosure trasparente, mentre per i responsabili politici la sfida consiste nel garantire la continuità normativa e la credibilità dei mercati del carbonio. In conclusione, la ricerca evidenzia come il carbon pricing rappresenti oggi una leva strategica di trasformazione economica e finanziaria, un meccanismo capace di coniugare obiettivi ambientali e competitività, a condizione che imprese e governi sviluppino sistemi resilienti alle incertezze politiche e di mercato.
Strategic and financial implications of carbon pricing mechanisms
Aletti, Giovanni
2024/2025
Abstract
The growing urgency to tackle climate change has led to the development of economic and regulatory instruments aimed at internalizing the environmental costs of CO₂ emissions. Among these, carbon markets and carbon pricing mechanisms are now central pillars of global climate policy and have the potential to transform sustainability into a measurable economic variable. This thesis analyzes the functioning of carbon markets, with a specific focus on the European Union's Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS), and explores their financial and strategic implications for businesses. The aim is to understand how carbon pricing influences investment decisions, corporate valuation, and risk management, transforming an environmental obligation into a factor of competitiveness and innovation. After illustrating the theoretical foundations and regulatory evolution of the ETS system, the research delves into the progressive “financialization” of carbon credits, analyzed as hybrid instruments between commodities and financial assets. The effects of these instruments on volatility, credit ratings, cost of capital, and corporate management strategies are examined, highlighting how climate performance is now integrated into economic and financial valuation models. The second part of the thesis presents a case study dedicated to Tesla, Inc., which explores the impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025, a US reform that drastically reduced incentives for electric vehicles and environmental credit mechanisms. The case demonstrates how excessive dependence on public policy can become a regulatory risk that compromises profitability and financial stability. The results highlight that the success of the green transition depends not only on technological innovation, but also on institutional stability and the consistency of climate policies. For businesses, this implies the need to integrate carbon risk management into decision-making processes by adopting diversification and transparent disclosure strategies, while for policymakers, the challenge is to ensure regulatory continuity and the credibility of carbon markets. In conclusion, the research highlights how carbon pricing is now a strategic lever for economic and financial transformation, a mechanism capable of combining environmental objectives and competitiveness, provided that businesses and governments develop systems that are resilient to political and market uncertainties.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/246038