Looking for a Brighter Future? Solarpunk is the Answer

Can we com­mu­nic­ate a bright­er future? Solarpunk is the answer.

Likely first men­tioned in 2008, sol­arpunk is a uto­pi­an expres­sion of a sus­tain­able and envir­on­ment­ally-friendly future. 

The trend high­lights a future where we use sol­ar power to cre­ate a more equit­able and resi­li­ent world.

But the trend goes way bey­ond just sol­ar power.

Here goes:

What is Solarpunk?

Solarpunk is a move­ment that ima­gines a future where renew­able energy sources are the norm and com­munity-based solu­tions are used to cre­ate a more sus­tain­able and equit­able world. 

“Solarpunk is a move­ment in spec­u­lat­ive fic­tion, art, fash­ion and act­iv­ism that seeks to answer and embody the ques­tion ‘what does a sus­tain­able civil­isa­tion look like, and how can we get there?’ The aes­thet­ics of sol­arpunk merge the prac­tic­al with the beau­ti­ful, the well-designed with the green and wild, the bright and col­or­ful with the earthy and sol­id. Solarpunk can be uto­pi­an, just optim­ist­ic, or con­cerned with the struggles en route to a bet­ter world — but nev­er dysto­pi­an. As our world roils with calam­ity, we need solu­tions, not warn­ings. Solutions to live com­fort­ably without fossil fuels, to equit­ably man­age scarcity and share abund­ance, to be kinder to each oth­er and to the plan­et we share. At once a vis­ion of the future, a thought­ful pro­voca­tion, and an achiev­able life­style.”
Source: Solarpunk: A Reference Guide

Solarpunk in Marketing and PR

“Dear Alice” is a sol­arpunk-inspired Yoghurt com­mer­cial with social media acclaim due to its beau­ti­ful and pos­it­ive out­look on our future.

Solarpunk might offer inspir­a­tion for oth­er brands think­ing about com­mu­nic­at­ing a vis­ion of a future world that isn’t scary.

In con­trast to dysto­pi­an sci-fi ideas about the future, many pub­lics might long for less bleak visions.

Decentralised and Community-Based

Another essen­tial aspect of sol­arpunk is that it focuses on cre­at­ing a more equit­able and just soci­ety. This means it addresses poverty, access to edu­ca­tion and health­care, and inequality. 

For example, a sol­arpunk com­munity might work to cre­ate a com­munity garden that provides fresh pro­duce to people in need or to cre­ate a loc­al renew­able energy coöper­at­ive owned and con­trolled by the community.

One of the crit­ic­al prin­ciples is that it is a com­munity-based move­ment rather than one depend­ent on large cor­por­a­tions or gov­ern­ments. This means that people are encour­aged to work togeth­er to cre­ate small-scale solu­tions that can have a sig­ni­fic­ant impact. 

For example, a com­munity might come togeth­er to install sol­ar pan­els on their homes or to cre­ate a small-scale wind farm to power their neighbourhood.

Solarpunk Aesthetic

Ultimately, Solarpunk is about cre­at­ing a future that is not only sus­tain­able but also beau­ti­ful and enjoy­able to live in. It com­bines a focus on renew­able energy, sus­tain­able tech­no­lo­gies, and com­munity-based solu­tions to cre­ate a green­er, more equit­able world for all.

Solarpunk is not only a move­ment focused on using renew­able energy sources and cre­at­ing a more sus­tain­able future, but it also has its unique aesthetic. 

The sol­arpunk aes­thet­ic is char­ac­ter­ised by a blend of futur­ist­ic and retro ele­ments, often incor­por­at­ing tech­no­logy such as sol­ar pan­els and wind tur­bines with a dis­tinct rus­tic or hand­made feel.

The aes­thet­ic often takes inspir­a­tion from the nat­ur­al world and incor­por­ates ele­ments such as green­ery and nat­ur­al mater­i­als into designs. Using bright, vibrant col­ours and incor­por­at­ing com­munity-based and DIY ele­ments are typical.

Overall, the Solarpunk aes­thet­ic cre­ates a har­mo­ni­ous bal­ance between tech­no­logy and nature and pro­motes a sense of com­munity and self-suf­fi­ciency. It is about ima­gin­ing a future that is not only sus­tain­able but also beau­ti­ful and enjoy­able to live in.

Examples of Solarpunk Architecture

The move­ment draws inspir­a­tion from vari­ous sources, includ­ing Art Nouveau, a pop­u­lar archi­tec­tur­al and design move­ment in the late 19th and early 20th cen­tur­ies that emphas­ised organ­ic forms and nat­ur­al mater­i­als. ¹Art Nouveau. (2023, January 14). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Nouveau

While there aren’t many build­ings or urb­an plans that have been expli­citly labelled as “sol­arpunk,” sev­er­al pro­jects embrace prin­ciples and ideas that align with the movement:

Solarpunk in Culture 

In lit­er­at­ure, the nov­el Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach is a clas­sic example of sol­arpunk fic­tion. It describes a green and sus­tain­able soci­ety that is ima­gined as an altern­at­ive to our cur­rent way of liv­ing. It incor­por­ates decent­ral­ised tech­no­lo­gies, renew­able energy, and sus­tain­able garden­ing prac­tices. ²Ecotopia. (2022, September 4). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotopia

Two oth­er not­able works are Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and Eco-Speculation, a col­lec­tion of short stor­ies by sev­er­al award-win­ning authors, and Ecopunk!: Speculative Tales of Radical Futures, an Australian antho­logy of short stories.

Black Panther’s Wakanda is a prime example of a sol­arpunk uto­pia where nature and tech coex­ist har­mo­ni­ously. The com­munity praised the film for depict­ing a future where pro­gress is made, not just dis­cussed. ³Wakanda. (2023, January 10). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakanda

In fash­ion, sol­arpunk cloth­ing often incor­por­ates sus­tain­able materials.

An Unclear Political Alignment

The decent­ral­ised com­munity aspect of sol­arpunk bears the hall­marks of anarchy where the gov­ern­ing and all-power­ful state or nation seems nonexistent. 

The uto­pi­an solid­ar­ity with­in com­munit­ies sig­nals a futur­ist­ic ver­sion of Marxist social­ism, but the pres­ence of advanced tech­no­logy hints at a future depend­ent on sus­tain­able cap­it­al­ism and sci­entif­ic progress.

Solarpunk ideas seem to span the polit­ic­al spec­trum from left to right — all at once. 

Hardcore cli­mate act­iv­ists should cel­eb­rate the focus on renew­able energy and its escape from short-term cap­it­al­ism and mind­less con­sump­tion. Still, the focus on sci­ence and tech­no­logy opens the door for a human­ist­ic out­look on soci­et­al pro­gress and eco­nom­ic growth.

As a com­mu­nic­a­tion trend, the sol­arpunk mes­sage offers a rare tightrope walk in today’s cul­ture wars.

A Smart Minority: The Sustainable Future

Maybe vis­ions of our future mustn’t be depress­ing.

The bene­fits of sol­arpunk are many, but per­haps the most import­ant is that it offers a real solu­tion to the press­ing issue of cli­mate change. 

With the world on the brink of a cli­mate cata­strophe, it is more import­ant than ever to take action to reduce our car­bon foot­print and cre­ate a more sus­tain­able future. Optimists might be a smart minor­ity that is genu­inely worth get­ting behind.

If you’re look­ing for a bright­er future, explore today’s sol­arpunk trend and envi­sion a bright­er future.