How realistic is solarpunk, actually?
Solarpunk is a striking word. Combining ‘sun’ and ‘punk,’ a word usually associated with countercultures of the 1980s, does not give us any idea what this term means. Solarpunk is a movement in both art and film and society that imagines a future in which humanity lives in harmony with nature and embraces anti-consumption and de-colonialism (Hull, 2019). Besides the aesthetic, green-roofed cities and absence of robots, there are many parts of this phenomenon that should be examined closely. Let’s dive deeper into the key elements of solarpunk and discover the extent to which we can turn them into reality.
Mindset: refusing pessimism
Solarpunk falls under the umbrella of hopepunk, a sub-genre of all ‘punk’-related movements that focus on working towards a better future and believing in humanity’s will and ability to overcome the social and political shackles that restrain us. Mindset is the key part of the movement due to its influence on society as a whole: if every person on the planet believes that our ecological situation cannot be improved, then little will be done, and the situation will not improve. Instead of focusing on hopelessness, solarpunk encourages us to contribute even on a small scale. This is possible on an individual level. Moreover, it will improve your quality of life.
Renewable energy sources and sustainable technology
Solar energy is central to solarpunk, as the name suggests, alongside wind, water, and other renewable sources. The movement’s goal is to coexist with nature rather than dominate it. The first step is adapting energy infrastructure and building the facilities needed to support that change. Clean energy, including renewables and nuclear power, supplied 40.9% of global electricity in 2024, the highest share since the 1940s. Progress is visible and already helping, yet it is not enough. Oil remains deeply influential in national economies and international trade. We cannot overturn energy production in one year or one decade. In my view, a full transition could take far longer than current political timelines allow. Humanity remains too reliant on fuel to let it go easily, making it unclear how completely this part of solarpunk can be realized.
Implementing sustainable technologies is even more complicated. With the rise of water consumption by AI data centers and invasion of complex technology into every aspect of our lives, I highly doubt that embracing the concept of sustainable technology, as analog as possible, understandable, easy to assemble and eco-friendly, is achievable at scale in the near future. In fact, it all moves towards the polar opposite of sustainability: technology will continue to overtake more and more ‘human’ parts of life, with data centers multiplying as the companies expand their computing infrastructure.
Economics: Ecological DIY and anti-consumption
Solarpunk foregrounds the ideals of care, humility and community, which are prized over competition and economic growth. Greenwashing and green capitalism are eliminated, leaning towards socio-anarchism (Katarzyna, 2022). As mentioned above, many low-tech ways of living are implemented in society, including sewing, gardening, and do-it-yourself ethos. Anti-consumption is also one of the primary principles, and that came directly from the ‘punk’ element, many punk communities are still famous for their refusal of mass production, instead preferring to thrift clothes or make them. It aligns perfectly with the goal of reducing pollution: in the status quo, thousands of tons of perfectly usable and recyclable clothes are thrown into garbage every year. The steps to reduce textile waste are straightforward: look through your wardrobe and donate clothes you don’t use; buy clothes that contain natural, high-quality materials, even if they are slightly more expensive; and finally, don’t throw away your favorite shirt after it ripped, fix it!
Society: social equity and equality, integrating in harmony with the environment
The society of the future is reliant on growth, adaptation, and flexibility. Instead of sticking to unnecessary old traditions, solarpunk believers embrace progress and anti-stagnation measures. Murray Bookchin’s theory says that we can replace the human’s desire to dominate one another with celebration of variety and cooperation. According to Bookchin, “to create a truly rational and ecological society, we must nourish the insights provided by reason to create a sense of a shared humanity that is bound neither by gendered outlooks nor by beliefs in deities” (Katarzyna, 2022). The scales between community and individual freedom are balanced, personal independence is one of the society’s main interests. The community is also a key element: participation in creating better conditions, better future, is highly praised. Everyone’s actions must affect the world around them. For me, the concept of implementing societal narratives that lean towards the natural structure of an ecosystem, each part is equally vital to the survival of the whole system, sounds almost utopian in our world. Our history, the endless wars and discrimination that continue even to this day, makes it hard to believe that humanity can change as a whole. It would take effort from each living human, which current political and economic structures make extraordinarily difficult.
Politics: anti-greenwashing and abolishment of green capitalism
Elvia Wilk emphasizes a socially radical understanding that, “Pleasant green architecture means nothing if it becomes an extension of colonialist fantasy via the narratives of the same heroes that much Steam and Cyber abound with.” (Shaner, 2022). The talk about equality and ecology is meaningless and delusional if we do not properly address the underlying faults in our systems that serve as the root of all problems. If we try to build an eco-conscious world while factories that dump toxic waste into rivers and exploit human labor still exist, it would mean nothing. It would be a beautiful, utopian façade, with the same filling as our current society. To reach solarpunk’s level of symbiosis between humans and nature, we must abolish the very things that poison our existence, and, unfortunately, are the foundation. You cannot destroy the foundation without facing terrifying consequences.
Conclusion
Solar punk’s ideas sound perfect and completely realistic on the outside, while inside they require the rebuilding of every aspect of our world, from politics and economics to mindset, which appears extraordinarily difficult in our current reality where people wage wars on other people because of their skin colour and destroy nature with alarmingly fast rates. Some of the ideals, DIY culture, refusing pessimism and compassion towards others, are achievable on an individual scale and will definitely make your life easier, yet the major problems of our world cannot be solved yet.
