An atlas for asking better questions about climate technology
458 technologies, one starting question and a pilot tool for organising capabilities, dependencies and information gaps.
Over the past few months, I have been developing the Climate Technology Atlas, a pilot tool that organises information on 458 technologies related to climate-change mitigation and adaptation.
Before building the tool, it was necessary to address a more basic question: to what extent does a technology constitute an appropriate climate response?
That question gave rise to the first Journal instalment, The paradoxical role of technology within the climate crisis. The article examines a central tension: we need new technologies to address the effects of the systems that helped create the crisis, yet developing and implementing them also requires energy, materials, infrastructure, knowledge and institutions.
Part I proposes reading technology as a system made up of hardware, software and orgware. It also establishes criteria for organising information traceably, recognising gaps and distinguishing between describing a technology and assessing whether it is appropriate in a particular context.
The Atlas remains a pilot under methodological and technical review. Its purpose is to make consultation easier, help identify capabilities and dependencies, and provide a more organised basis for formulating questions and guiding further analysis.