Carbon Lock-In: Types, Causes, and Policy Implications
@article{Seto2016CarbonLT, title={Carbon Lock-In: Types, Causes, and Policy Implications}, author={Karen C. Seto and Steven J. Davis and Ronald B. Mitchell and Eleanor C. Stokes and Gregory C. Unruh and Diana {\"u}rge-Vorsatz}, journal={Annual Review of Environment and Resources}, year={2016}, volume={41}, pages={425-452} }
Existing technologies, institutions, and behavioral norms together act to constrain the rate and magnitude of carbon emissions reductions in the coming decades. The inertia of carbon emissions due to such mutually reinforcing physical, economic, and social constraints is referred to as carbon lock-in. Carbon lock-in is a special case of path dependency, which is common in the evolution of complex systems. However, carbon lock-in is particularly prone to entrenchment given the large capital…
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