InroductionThe present study examines the factors influencing climate-conscious investment behavior among middle-income retail investors in six major metropolitan cities in India using the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) framework, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and Signaling theory.MethodsData were collected from 576 middle-income retail investors.ResultsThe findings indicate that Climate Risk Awareness and Perceived Climate Disclosure Quality were positively associated with Trust in Climate Disclosures, which was subsequently associated with Climate-Conscious Investment Attitude, Climate-Conscious Investment Intention, and self-reported Climate-Conscious Investment Behavior, with Perceived Greenwashing Risk acting as a moderator.DiscussionThe study advances the field of behavioral climate finance by separating Perceived Climate Disclosure Quality as an information-related stimulus from Climate Risk Awareness as an investor-level cognitive antecedent and demonstrates the interplay of trust, attitude, and intention that leads to climate-conscious investment behavior. The results offer valuable guidance for regulators, corporations and financial institutions aiming to foster the adoption of Climate-Conscious Investment Behavior among urban retail investors.