Solarpunk offers a vision for a future that is as bright as realistically possible - deeply aware of the climate crises and the coming consequences, partly dealing with it, partly preventing it. It is a vision for a lifestyle where humanity lives in harmony with (and as part of) nature. The use of advanced technology – where appropriate – is not a mean of exploitation but a tool for environmental conservation.
Progress, Redefined
In this envisioned world, “progress” is not equated with an ever accelerating extraction of fossil resources, rising social inequality, and environmental degradation. In contrast, progress is about finding ever better ways of living within the planetary boundaries. Wealth is not measured as the GDP, but as the well-being of all living beings.
Actionable Science Fiction
Solarpunk as a science fiction genre never was purely speculative - it encourages a shift from fantastical speculation to actionable blueprints that are within reaching distance. We want this science fiction to become reality.
➠ Do you want to become a Solarpunk Pioneer?
The Pioneers: The Pioneers took the future into their own hands. After the great disasters, they saved everyone and the planet with their out-of-the-box thinking and their technological and environmental awareness. Their main goal is to develop a modern lifestyle where humanity, nature, technology and spirituality are in balance and much more advanced. Their communities are a place to experiment with new ways of living, energy production, society and spirituality. Everything they create is feeded into a global knowledge base, free for everyone to reuse and to improve.
Skill: Prototyping. The pioneers are hackers that love tinkering around with technology, using low-tech solutions where possible. They create intelligent solutions to support sustainability. These prototypes are built quickly and solve a concrete problem.
(Adapted from the Solarpunk 2050 TTRPG by Thorsten Sick)
As a general introduction to the aesthetics and ideas of solarpunk, we recommend the following video. More links to videos and other resources can be found on the Projects page.
The top picture is Berlin 2048 from Alex Rommel (aerroscape), published in the free Utopia 2048 book by Lino Alexander Zeddies under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license (reused with permission).
