Carbon Lock-In describes how infrastructure, institutions, skills, investment, and expectations reinforce continued dependence on high-carbon systems.
In systems analysis, the term is useful when it clarifies a mechanism, accumulation, constraint, or governance choice rather than serving as a vague label.
Read Carbon Lock-In: Why High-Emission Systems Persist After Better Alternatives Exist and How to Break Carbon Lock-In Without Creating a Disorderly Transition.