When solutions become problems: How low-carbon innovations can undermine sustainability transitions

Complementarities, the supporting technological innovations and infrastructures that enable core focal technologies to deliver on their intended goals more effectively and at scale, are widely recognized as essential catalysts for sustainability transitions. However, this study challenges the prevalent assumption that adopting low-carbon complementarities invariably leads to positive outcomes. By analyzing sustainability transitions through an innovation ecosystem perspective, we theorize how complementarities can steer innovation into an ‘optimization trap,’ impeding progress towards net-zero carbon emissions by favoring incremental improvements over fundamental system transformation. Our analysis identifies four types of ecosystem failures that drive this outcome: innovation myopia (short-sighted focus on immediate fixes), complexity paralysis (inability to adapt due to system complexity), competitive cannibalization (strategic behaviors that undermine collective progress), and value extraction imbalance (misalignment between contribution and benefit). These failures differ in their technological characteristics, institutional factors, and actor incentives, but all create similar consequences for transition trajectories. Through real-world cases we demonstrate how these failures create a ‘transition trilemma,’ a persistent trade-off between the speed, breadth, and depth of the transition process. This study provides a framework to help policymakers and industry stakeholders understand and anticipate these dynamics, highlighting the need for conscious, strategic choices when integrating complementary technological innovations into sustainability transitions.