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(Mark Hulbert, an author and longtime investment columnist, is the founder of the Hulbert Financial Digest. His Hulbert Ratings audits investment newsletter returns.)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Callaway Climate Insights) — A new study has more good news for investors who take climate factors into account: You’re having a bigger impact than previously thought.

As I’ve written before, the primary channel through which climate-focused investors can hope to change corporate behavior is by reducing green companies’ cost of capital. That would enable them to undertake more green projects than otherwise. However, researchers could find little evidence that there was a significant difference in green and brown companies’ cost of capital. Until now.