This paper shows that private equity (PE) ownership, in private-to-private buyouts, leads to a reduction in pollution when the target company faces high potential liabilities for polluting. Conversely, PE-backed firms increase pollution when environmental liability risks are low, as shown by a novel natural experiment that reduced these risks for projects located on federal land. Exploiting specific PE deals within the energy industry, I find that PE governance is the main driver of the results. The results suggest that increasing litigation and regulation-related risks can mitigate the potentially detrimental effects of PE ownership on stakeholders. (JEL K32, G34, G38, Q50)

中文翻译：

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私募股权所有权会让公司更清洁吗？环境责任风险的作用

本文表明，当目标公司面临较高的潜在污染责任时，私募股权 （PE） 所有权在私募对私有收购中可以减少污染。相反，当环境责任风险较低时，私募股权支持的公司会增加污染，正如一项新颖的自然实验所表明的那样，该实验降低了位于联邦土地上的项目的这些风险。利用能源行业内的特定 PE 交易，我发现 PE 治理是结果的主要驱动力。结果表明，诉讼和监管相关风险的增加可以减轻 PE 所有权对利益相关者的潜在不利影响。（JEL K32、G34、G38、Q50）