Foreign Direct Investment, Multinational Entreprises and Climate Change

Foreign direct investment (FDI) may play a key role in the global effort to shift towards a low-carbon economy. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) can contribute in several important ways to climate change mitigation, by providing emission-saving technologies, financial resources and managerial skills to resource-constrained economies. On the other hand, the fact that firms are internationally mobile may limit the possibility to implement unilaterally mitigation measures, due to concerns about competitiveness and leakage. These issues were examined at a recent ICCG Workshop, bringing together experts from different professional contexts and disciplinary backgrounds.