A goal-driven framework for carbon neutrality technology development

To achieve the mid-21st century carbon neutrality goal, accelerated carbon neutrality technology (CNT) innovation and deployment are needed, while most existing technologies and low-carbon systems fall short. Thus, a comprehensive CNT development roadmap is crucial for policy design. It must balance short- and long-term priorities, integrate cross-sectoral innovations, and consider CNT interrelationships. In response, a goal-driven technology development roadmapping framework is proposed, based on a review of the gap between current progress and carbon neutrality requirements. It provides a holistic approach by effectively linking the top-down, long-term goals of carbon neutrality with bottom-up, short- and medium-term technology development. A case study of China’s CNT development roadmap is conducted to illustrate the practical application of this framework and demonstrate how the framework can be tailored and implemented in different contexts.