Increasing the speed, scope, and level of decarbonization for meeting the Net-zero 2050 challenge. Implications for sustainability transitions research

Abstract

This viewpoint identifies three interrelated transition imperatives to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 – increasing the speed, scope and level of decarbonization. First, the urgency of climate action places temporality and radically accelerated sociotechnical change at the heart of the netzero 2050 challenge. Second, the net-zero challenge implies a broadening of decarbonization efforts from the usual focus on electricity and transport to all sectors of the economy and a need for thinking across multiple sectors. Third, increasing levels of decarbonization necessitates widespread and rapid diffusion of low-carbon solutions with limited time for experimentation and deliberation. Interactions between these imperatives create research challenges related to time frame tensions, tipping points, sector couplings, multi-sector technologies and massive upscaling.