Abstract: Against the backdrop of intensifying global climate change, climate risk has emerged as a critical factor constraining corporate green transition. Using panel data from A-share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges spanning 2013-2022, this paper empirically examines the impact of climate risk on corporate green total factor productivity (GTFP) and its underlying mechanisms. The findings indicate that climate risk significantly inhibits the improvement of corporate GTFP, a conclusion that remains robust after addressing endogeneity concerns through instrumental variable estimation and a battery of robustness checks. Mechanism analysis reveals that climate risk not only undermines corporate green governance performance, but also induces managerial myopia, thereby dragging down the long-term performance of GTFP. Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that this inhibiting effect is more pronounced in firms with higher supply chain concentration, those in the growth stage, and those with higher chairperson ownership. Further analysis finds that digital transformation and improvements in investment efficiency can effectively mitigate the adverse impact of climate risk. Decomposition analysis based on the Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index reveals that this mitigating effect operates primarily through the channel of green technological progress rather than mere improvements in technical efficiency, exhibiting a pronounced “technology-biased” characteristic. To guard against climate risk, enterprises should accelerate digital deployment and optimize investment structures, while regulatory authorities need to formulate targeted climate governance and support policies for vulnerable enterprises to ensure the green and sustainable development of micro-entities.

Key words: climate risk, green total factor productivity, managerial myopia, technological bias