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Emerging technologies from AI-driven systems to electrified homes are being developed without accounting for the energy and climate pressures they will face, according to new research led by Monash University.
The report, Scenarios for Future Living: Emerging technology innovation and development, drew on 93 reports, expert interviews and industry observations to identify trends expected to shape the future. These include the rise of AI and automation, an ageing population with changing healthcare needs and growing inequalities in access to housing and technology.
It also examined how a changing climate could influence and disrupt these technologies and the everyday practices they support.
Growing demand on a stressed system
Large-scale technology trends and shifting household practices – from electrified appliances and electric vehicle adoption to changes in how Australians cool, heat, work and charge – are placing increasing demands on the electricity system.
Those demands are expected to be compounded by climate risks including extreme heat, bushfires, drought, riverine floods and infrastructure disruption.
The researchers compared climate risks identified in the National Climate Risk Assessment against the emerging technologies and practices they had mapped, finding a significant disconnect between the two.
Social Anthropologist and Lead Author, Dr Kari Dahlgren, from Monash’s Faculty of Arts, warned that emerging technologies are being developed on assumptions that may not hold in a climate-constrained future.
“Much of today’s technology innovation doesn’t seriously consider the energy system implications of the technology,” Dr Dahlgren explained.
“As climate risks intensify, technologies that depend on continuous power and connectivity may face greater challenges to how they function in everyday life.”
Uneven risk distribution
The study finds these risks are not evenly distributed. Older Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, regional and remote communities and lower-income households are the most exposed, due to greater reliance on energy systems and unequal access to resilient technologies.
Industries including healthcare, aged care, agriculture, construction, logistics and energy are also likely to face increased disruption. Climate impacts could reduce workforce capacity, strain infrastructure, disrupt supply chains and increase demand on already pressured systems.
The report identifies several areas where the disconnect between technology development and climate reality is most visible. These include rising demand for cooling technologies in a warming climate, the need for more resilient digital and energy infrastructure and the risks facing home-based healthcare and remote monitoring systems during power outages.
Impacts felt in the home
Monash Energy Institute Director (Research) and Co-author, Professor Yolande Strengers, pointed out that the impacts of these vulnerabilities will be felt most acutely in daily household practices.
“These technologies are often framed as solutions to climate challenges, but they are deeply dependent on the very systems that are under increasing stress,” Professor Strengers noted.
“We need to be considering these technological innovations and how they are likely to unfold in everyday life, to ensure the system continues to be resilient to these future changes.”
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Six visions of the future
The researchers developed six visions of the future to demonstrate how identified trends in technology and innovation may play out in different parts of everyday life.
These include scenarios where older Australians rely on home-based healthcare supported by remote monitoring and assistive robots, homes become immersive digital environments powered by AI and extended reality and households operate as highly automated, energy-optimised systems.
Other visions imagine modular, mobile homes that adapt to climate pressures, as well as a shift towards more energy-conscious living with fewer digital devices in response to environmental and social concerns. Across each scenario, increasing reliance on electricity and connectivity heightens exposure to climate-related disruptions.
Designing for resilience
Co-author, Dr Fareed Kaviani, from Monash’s Faculty of Information Technology argued that addressing these disruptions will require a shift in how technologies are designed and deployed.
“There is a growing need to design technologies that are not only efficient and advanced, but also resilient to disruption,” Dr Kaviani stated.
“That includes building systems that can respond to increasingly volatile environments.”
Looking ahead, the researchers plan to work directly with Australian households to better understand how these expected future trends are likely to be experienced in everyday life and to inform the development of more resilient, equitable and accessible technologies and energy systems.
A cross-institutional effort
The report was developed by a cross-disciplinary team from Monash University, including Dr Kari Dahlgren, Dr Fareed Kaviani and Professor Yolande Strengers, in collaboration with Dr Rex Martin and Dr Mike Roberts from the University of New South Wales.
The research forms part of the Scenarios for Future Living project under the RACE for 2030 cooperative research centre, bringing together Monash University, the University of New South Wales, the University of Technology Sydney and CSIRO. Industry partners include Ausgrid, CitiPower, Powercor, United Energy, Red Energy, the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.
Funded by the RACE for 2030 CRC, the research is intended to guide industry and policymakers in building a fair and resilient energy system for the decade ahead.
Last Updated on May 8, 2026 by Nick Ross
