Comparing the Return and Volatility Performance of Renewable Energy Companies. Empirical Evidence from COVID-19 Pandemic and the 2015 Paris Agreement

This paper investigates the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the 2015 Paris Agreement on the returns and volatility of renewable energy companies. The COVID-19 Pandemic led to a marked decline in volatility for TSLA, while volatility increased for NEE, FSLR, and the NDAQ index. In contrast, the 2015 Paris Agreement was linked to a significant reduction in volatility across all examined companies as well as the NDAQ. These results indicate that global policy agreements, such as the 2015 Paris Agreement, may help stabilise renewable energy markets, whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has affected volatility in a company-specific manner, reflecting differences in characteristics among NDAQ, TSLA, FSLR, and NEE.