Climate Change Reporting among Mining Firms in Africa: Practice, Theory and Policy

Climate change has become a topical issue of concern among businesses, policymakers, politicians, diplomats and researchers across the globe. A key area of concern has been the negative impact that climate change shall have on the world if not mitigated, leading to the call for actions to avert the negative impact. A significant portion of global mining (extraction) activities that have a significant impact on the climate happen in Africa but little scholarly works have explored the state of climate change reporting among mining firms in Africa. Corporate climate change reporting is an essential factor pointing to the commitment of businesses towards achieving the Paris Climate Change Agreement. This chapter explores the state of corporate climate change reporting, as well as, corporate governance and other factors that affect disclosure of firms. The empirical analysis explores data of firms from South Africa and Morocco and covers the period 2006 to 2019. The results show that board size, board independence, firm size, human development, corruption perception and the United Nations Global Compact, are some determinants of climate change disclosure. Additionally, the chapter provides a case study of climate change insights on South Africa and Morocco, as leading countries in Africa and Ghana, as having the potential but needs to take action. The chapter offers relevant insights for businesses, practitioners, policymakers and academics on the state of climate change disclosure among mining firms in Africa.