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7 archetypes of people working in climate and climate tech (and quiz)

by Steven Zhang · updated May 8, 2023

What are the motivations of people working in climate and climatetech? Nadia Asparouhova answers this in a thoughtful research essay "Mapping out the tribes of climate".


"While the media still portrays climate as a simple question of beliefs, the climate field has long moved on to diversified solutions. Climate is better understood not as a singular list of technology and policy action items, but as an assortment of climate tribes."

With Nadia's permission, ClimateTechList has produced a "climate personality" quiz to help you find your climate archetype. Answer these four questions to find out which archetype you are!

Here's a summary from Nadia's article on the 7 archetypes:

7 tribes of climate


CategoryDescription
Energy maximalismFind cheap, plentiful sources of energy that move us past scarcity mindset
Climate urbanismBuild dense, resilient networks of people by focusing on urban development
Climate techFind low-hanging fruit and overlooked leverage points to make progress more
Eco-globalismReduce global carbon emissions by setting and enforcing targets
EnvironmentalismReduce our carbon footprint by learning to live within our limits and holding policymakers accountable
NeopastoralismRevert society to a pre-industrial era, free from the harmful influence of technology
DoomerismPrepare for the inevitable worst