How to Induce Multinational Firms’ Local Sourcing to Break Carbon Lock-in?

Abstract

Carbon lock-in poses a significant challenge in developing countries such as India and China. To mitigate this issue, these countries can leverage mandatory carbon emission reduction mandates imposed by multinational firms (MNFs) on their domestic manufacturers, thereby spurring the latter's investment in carbon emission reduction. However, facing eco-conscious customers, MNFs might opt to source from carbon-neutral overseas manufacturers even at high import tariff costs. We therefore explore how a local government can adjust the tariff rate and/or the domestic manufacturer's carbon emission reduction efficiency to induce an MNF local sourcing. Our findings indicate that even if the MNF has sourced locally, the overall emissions can be effectively reduced only when the domestic manufacturer's efficiency in reducing carbon emissions surpasses a unique threshold. Regarding social welfare, our results demonstrate a hump-shaped relationship with import tariff rates when an overseas sourcing strategy is adopted. We identify a triple-win situation where the MNF's local sourcing harmonizes the MNF's profit-maximization goal, the local government's environment protection goal, and the social welfare maximization goal. This paper sheds light on the value of MNFs’ sustainability requirements and local sourcing strategy in curbing emissions and tackling the pervasive issue of carbon lock-in that plagues many developing countries.