More-than-Human Net Zero Futures

From industry through policymaking to academia, much prevailing sustainability discourse focusses on transitioning to a so-called ‘Net Zero future’. Central to this vision is mitigation of human-driven climate change through the decarbonisation of industrial society, principally via increased innovation and adoption of emergent technologies. This paper argues Design Research must pivot from these reductive, solutionist narratives, and develop a disruptive yet inclusive approach towards designing for Net Zero. In response to the complexity of climate change, this paper proposes a novel conceptual frame that helps designer-practitioners to challenge the unsustainable technocentric status quo. Built upon a confluence of Speculative, Participatory and More-than-Human-Centred methods, the paper outlines how this approach can stimulate close collaboration between designers and stakeholder networks. The paper asserts that, through this scaffold, designer-practitioners can reimagine responsible technological Net Zero futures which are inherently More-than-Human, that is, sustainable and equitable for our planet’s human and non-human stakeholders alike.