Multinational enterprises mitigate carbon inequality across Chinese cities
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22434066 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kang Lin (0009-0008-9088-7122, Xi'an Jiaotong University), Kailan Tian (0000-0003-2405-9587, Chinese Academy of Sciences, corresponding author), Yuli Shan (0000-0002-5215-8657, University of Birmingham, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 64 |
| Pages | 266-281 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sustainable Production and Consumption (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2352-5509 • E-ISSN: 2352-5509 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.spc.2026.03.001 |
| OpenAlex | W7134126014 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 50 |
Reducing carbon inequality has become a central challenge under the carbon-neutrality agenda. However, the increasing role of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in shaping regional inequality remains unclear. Using newly developed Inter-City Input–Output Tables that distinguish MNEs activities, this paper quantifies MNEs-induced carbon footprints and value added across Chinese cities, traces the interregional transfers they generate, and evaluates their effects on inter-city carbon inequality. Results show that MNEs induce substantial but spatially uneven emissions and economic gains. The counterfactual simulations indicate that MNEs significantly mitigate the escalating inter-city carbon inequality during 2002–2017. Structural decomposition analysis reveals that this equalizing effect is driven primarily by technology spillovers and cleaner supply-chain structures, whereas scale effects tend to exacerbate disparities. These findings deepen our understanding of how foreign investment shapes interregional carbon inequality and highlight the potential for strategically leveraging MNEs activity to promote greener and more regionally balanced development in large emerging economies.
Carbon fibers · China · Inequality · Multinational corporation · Energy, Environment, Economic Growth · Environmental Impact and Sustainability · Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis
Global carbon inequality
China CO2 emission accounts 2016–2017
China CO2 emission accounts 1997–2015
Embodied carbon emissions in the supply chains of multinational enterprises
Do foreign firms help make local firms greener? Evidence of environmental spillovers in China
Visible carbon emissions vs. invisible value-added
The reverse technology spillover effect of outward foreign direct investment, energy efficiency and carbon emissions
Can Chinese outward foreign direct investment help the belt and road low-carbon development? Evolutionary game in China’s environmental responsibility
Global value chains participation and trade-induced carbon inequality
Carbon inequality in global trade
Wealth inequality and carbon inequality
Global carbon inequality over 1990–2019
Metropolitan air pollution abatement and industrial growth
The emissions responsibility accounting of multinational enterprises for an efficient climate policy
| Highly cited | No |
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