Description
This paper critically evaluates the emergence of a new genre of speculative fiction, Solarpunk. The, at present, disparate and sparse literature is characterised by an optimistic rendering of the future in light of climate change with the aim of fostering alternative futures that go beyond allegorical warnings or presenting apocalyptic scenarios. The genre mainly consists of an online community and some short story collections, which generally advocate and describe a ‘green utopianism’. The three collections in English are Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and Eco-Speculation and Wings of Renewal: A Solarpunk Dragon Anthology, and Solarpunk: Ecological and Fantastic Stories in a Sustainable World. Solarpunk builds on the subversive tradition of various forms of punk to address issues of technology, science, and equality. The emerging aim is to move beyond a preoccupation with only ‘Western’ futures where the genre finds its hope in the renewable potential of solar power. While presenting some visual suggestions of where we might already see Solarpunk present in our world, this paper poses two sets of questions to the emerging genre: where and what are the politics of Solarpunk? And secondly, how do and how can the utopian visions of Solarpunk contribute to our imagining of climate change and the future?
