Researchers present a revised version of the “stabilization wedge” framework, first developed more than 20 years ago, which outlines 36 practical strategies to cut carbon emissions across diverse sectors. “Modernizing the climate-stabilization wedges allows a new generation to engage in contemporary debates about decarbonization and, through informed dialogue, brings people from different nations and cultures into closer agreement on how to address climate change,” write the authors. Addressing global climate change requires holistic and widely cooperative action across all levels of society. However, people and governments have diverse perspectives on climate change mitigation, which limits progress despite strong overall support for decarbonization efforts. In the early 2000s, researchers developed a framework known as the “stabilization triangle,” which simplified complex climate goals into a practical portfolio of seven “wedges,” each representing a concrete strategy capable of preventing one gigaton of carbon emissions per year by 2050. The approach emphasized a diversified set of readily available solutions at the time. However, in the two decades since this framework was first proposed, our understandings of carbon emissions, technology, and mitigation approaches have greatly changed.

Here, Nathan Johnson and Iain Staffell present a modernized and updated version of the stabilization wedge framework, defining each wedge as a strategy capable of avoiding roughly 2 gigatons of carbon emissions per year by 2050. According to the authors, the revised framework preserved the clarity and accessibility of the original stabilization triangle, allowing policymakers and the public to evaluate and compare solutions with tangible outcomes without relying on complex integrated assessment modeling tools. Johnson and Staffell identify 36 actionable strategies spanning energy, transportation, industry, buildings, and land use, each with the potential to deliver at least one wedge of emissions reductions. These wedges can be achieved through a broad range of actions, such as improving efficiency, using cleaner energy sources, changing consumer behaviors, implementing carbon capture and storage technologies, or adopting sustainable land management practices, for example. Although current policies amount to about 17 wedges, the authors note that roughly 20 more are needed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Moreover, successful decarbonization depends not just on individual actions, but on deploying them in coordinated, mutually reinforcing combinations. According to Johnson and Staffell, the updated wedge framework thus encourages holistic thinking about the interactions, trade-offs, and synergies in designing effective climate strategies. “The 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) concluded with many nations submitting updated 2035 pledges to reduce atmospheric carbon emissions,” write Haewon McJeon and Yang Ou in a related Perspective. “Tools such as the new framework of Johnson and Staffell could help align people’s preferences with technical pathways, supporting more durable and adaptive climate mitigation plans.”

For reporters interested in trends, this work builds off a 2004 Science paper by Pacala and Socolow, who developed the Stabilization Wedges framework to contemporary decarbonization. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1100103