Path to Sustainability toward a Zero-Carbon Society

This chapter examines the challenge of transitioning to a zero-carbon society at a time when climate change already disrupts economies, agriculture, and human health. It surveys three key technological domains: carbon capture and storage, which offers compatibility with existing infrastructure but faces cost and acceptance barriers; nuclear power, including small modular reactors and fusion research, which provides low-carbon baseload yet raises proliferation and regulatory concerns; and renewable energies, whose distributed nature can enhance energy security while introducing instability of supply and new dependencies on critical materials related to batteries. It recognizes the need for harmonized global policy, including carbon pricing, emissions trading, and a carbon border adjustment mechanism alongside responsible innovation and finance accounting for investment-related emissions. Finally, it proposes an ecosystem orchestration framework encompassing value alignment among stakeholders, interorganizational dynamic capabilities, innovation-business ecosystem interplay, and digital architectures to drive systemic transformation.