A multilayered framework for advancing rapid and cost-effective electric power system decarbonization

The decarbonization of electric power systems is a critical step in mitigating climate change and achieving global climate targets. Yet current approaches often address policy, markets, technology, and consumer behavior in isolation, making it difficult to design coherent and adaptive decarbonization pathways across stakeholders. To address this gap, we propose a three-layer, feedback-oriented framework for balanced power-system decarbonization. The framework explicitly links: (i) carbon accountability and policy design (layer 1), (ii) carbon-electricity market integration (layer 2), and (iii) data-driven carbon visibility and consumer engagement (layer 3). Unlike prior work, which typically examines these domains separately, our contribution is in organizing them into a unified architecture with bidirectional feedback channels that together form a closed-loop decarbonization governance structure, so that policy, market signals, operational performance, and consumer behavior can dynamically inform one another. By clarifying the interdependencies across layers, defining essential versus complementary research areas, and demonstrating how the framework may be implemented modularly, this perspective provides a structured research agenda for rapid, resilient, and socially equitable power-system decarbonization.