Back to the Future: The Impact Valuation of Net Zero Transition Plans by Dennis West, Dimitrij Euler
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30th Jan 2024
SSRN
Posted by Alumni
June 20, 2025
The current measurement for contingent assets and liabilities is insufficient in capturing uncertainty around net zero transition plans. We propose a model for the valuation of net zero transition plans, i.e. to estimate the uncertainties of positive and negative impacts of corporate activities along the transition pathway. The question of which factors determine the rules of recognition and measurement of assets and liabilities is not new to the scientific literature in accounting and finance. This article addresses an important but unresolved aspect in this stream of research: What factors determine the measurement of assets and liabilities whose contingencies emerge from corporate impacts on social-ecological systems in the future' First, we review the mechanism for quantitative thresholds for the recognition and measurement of assets and liabilities whose contingencies emanate from corporate impacts in the contextual environment of a reporting entity. Secondly, we develop a model for those mechanisms on an entity's greenhouse gas emissions and health & safety. We, then, outline the use cases and how to perform a simulation of the behavior of enterprise value under different impact valuation factors using well-recognized databases. The main contribution of this article is to demonstrate how the monetary valuation of net zero commitments and transition plans can improve uncertainty estimation. A systems-level view can also inform standard-setters and policymakers in further developing the traditional accounting rules of recognition and measurement of contingent assets and liabilities.
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