Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Climate technology fundamentals
Summary
Our fifth Climate UX discussion dives into fundamentals in climate tech. What are the technical primitives that underpin climate tech? What should we consider when working with complex data models and math? What ethical considerations are we integrating into these foundations? How do we balance innovation with inclusion to ensure we are preventing harm? Join us for a conversation about first principles thinking in the climate tech space. Panelists: Dem Gerolemou, Neef Rehman; Moderated by: Alexis Oh
Key Insights
-
•
Trust is a foundational primitive in climate tech design, critical at both input and output stages.
-
•
Climate tech presents a unique challenge of high uncertainty and incomplete data, requiring new UX approaches to represent ‘best guesses.’
-
•
Design principles used in healthcare UX, like managing expert users and risk tolerance, are highly transferable to climate tech.
-
•
Effective climate tech design must cater both to expert users and make complex data understandable and approachable for the general public.
-
•
Engaging and including diverse stakeholders, especially local communities, is vital to designing responsible climate solutions.
-
•
Behavioral design in climate UX succeeds when it makes the sustainable option easier and aligns incentives rather than solely relying on user willpower.
-
•
Working in climate tech requires balancing urgency to act with thorough stakeholder involvement and sustainable long-term impact.
-
•
Newcomers bring valuable perspectives by asking naive questions and imagining ideal solutions unconstrained by existing technical or regulatory limits.
-
•
Technology in climate tech is an enabler within broader systems including policy, societal acceptance, and scientific validation.
-
•
Continuous learning and flexibility are necessary due to the fast-evolving nature of climate science, technology, and policy.
Notable Quotes
"AI is just a tool. If AI is just a tool, what is behind it? Technology working with complex data models."
"My ideal state would be to sprout like a potato. That explains everything else."
"Tolerance to uncertainty is a big thing in climate tech compared to other fields."
"Most of the primitives of how you do work are portable to climate tech from other industries."
"Asking stupid questions can lead experts to reframe their thinking and improve the work."
"Trust is something to build and maintain, not a box to check or a one-time achievement."
"You have to make the hard thing easier to do. Behavioral change must be lower friction."
"Design’s value is in asking meaningful questions and steering towards the right outcome, not getting bogged down in technical parameters."
"No one wants to use a calendar; they want to be organized. Protect users from having to engage with complexity."
"Climate tech means always learning more; the world is learning so much every year."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Engaging communities requires thinking beyond western-centric tools, considering language and cultural relevance for accessibility."
Xenia Adjoubei Sean BruceEmpowering Communities Through the Researcher in Residence Program
March 29, 2023
"The focus isn’t on head to head competition, but on specialization and differentiation in the Italian market."
Tamara KartoziiaThink global, adapt local: how service design accelerated B2B market entry by 6 months
November 20, 2025
"We are the solution to preventing harmful AI outcomes like Robert's wrongful arrest."
Jay BustamanteNavigating the Ethical Frontier: DesignOps Strategies for Responsible AI Innovation
October 2, 2023
"Potential refers to not yet actualized possibilities that may or may not come to fruition."
Nicole AleongFuture Orientations to Everyday Life: Futures Anthropology as a Methodology
March 26, 2024
"Be curious, keep learning, and believe you can make a difference in sustainability."
Nick LewisDesigning and building low-carbon websites independently
November 18, 2025
"At best, user experience and product management work together in a healthy tension."
Vicky Teinaki Michele Marut Tim ParmeeShort Take #3: UX/Product Lessons from Your Industry Peers
December 6, 2022
"The presence of conflict is often an indication that something new is trying to emerge."
Laura WeissTurn Down the Heat: 3 Ways to Handle Conflict in the Moment
November 20, 2024
"Most product teams don't really have user research outputs or they come too late and disconnected from design."
Joerg Beringer Thomas GeisScaling User Research with AI: Continuous Discovery of User Needs in Minutes
June 10, 2025
"The nitty gritty is a space to become resources for each other so people know who to talk to when they have questions."
Shelby SwitzerMaking Space for Community Knowledge-sharing in a Distributed World
December 10, 2021
