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Inspiration for world-building for a novel set in a Solarpunk world

I want to write a novel that takes place sometime in the latter half of this century (let's say 2075), where the premise is that we've more or less achieved what could be described as a Solarpunk society globally, albeit not a perfect utopia. I am just an amateur, so don't hold your breath for the next literary masterpiece, but I am hoping that, if finished, it could at least inspire some people to envisage a better future. The novel itself will only use this as the setting, as a contrast to the often bleak and dystopian visions of the future - the plot will not be related to how this was achieved.

I am currently looking for inspiration for the world-building. What have happened between now and then on a big scale, particularly in terms of geopolitics? How did the tensions of today resolve so that we eventually landed in a Solarpunk society? I am happy to read both critical analyses of probably futures as well as speculative fiction on what could become, but that still remains rooted in the realm of the possible. The world should be mostly stable at the point of the novel, but many turbulent things could've happened on the way there.

A few examples of things I am looking for:

  • Which regions/peoples gained independence? Are The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland reunited, is Scotland independent from the UK, is Catalonia a sovereign state? Other examples outside of Europe?
  • How have e.g. the African Union and/or the East African Federation progressed, and what role do the play on the global scene? What about other would-be superpowers?
  • How did what today looks like an uncrossable divide between the left and right in the United States resolve? Was there ever a new civil war? What did that look like? Are they still united? Any new states?
  • Has the United Nations undergone any changes to become a more effective organization?

Have you read or seen anything like this that you could share? Articles, books, movies, TV-shows etc.? Do you have any thoughts of your own you would like to share?

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13 comments

  • I'm part of a group that has written a tabletop RPG with this purpose in mind. In addition to its use as a playable game, the world guide is meant to offer ideas and inspiration to writers. There's a lot general descriptions of the forces of change that occur over a hundred years.

    We're not quite done, but the nearly finished draft is already available for free on our website: https://fullyautomatedrpg.com. Take a look and see if you find anything that's useful to you.

  • The Lost Cause by Cory Doctorow has a similar albeit IMHO a bit too US centric setting. Worth a read never the less.

    I think it would be interesting to write a story from the perspective of a young second generation climate refugee in northern Europe.

  • The main geopolitical change is that oil is not going to be anymore a king-maker. I would expect a second Arab Spring (though the Arab world is more than just the Arabian peninsula) with more success. I would expect a lower influence of Russia as well.

    There are two possible flavors of future and really, both are credible, it depends on the stories you want to tell: more integration in supra-national entities or more independent states.

    1. More supranational structures: EU of course and the African Union are the obvious things, and, dare I say, there are interesting spy stories/James Bond plot to be done in the context of building these powerful entities. The emergence of a new democratic federation of Russia after a period of civil strife can be an interesting plot. The MERCOSUR and the ALBA can show interesting interactions. When it comes to Asia, I suspect one may need to invent a new organization, integration of countries are not on the program (except for Korean reunification). Also, do not forget the UN. It could consolidate in a form of government. It already has a de facto minister of trade (WTO), of labor (ILO), of health (WHO), of education (UNESCO). It is a slow process but solving the climate crisis could have given it the political credit it is currently lacking.

    2. More regionalism: With a lower incentive to move where labor is, people instead chose their place of living according to acquaintances, culture, religion, political affiliation... It led to an increase demand of separationism. And with less time wasted in labor, more people got involved in politics and interested in their local laws and rights. Also, several "virtual lands" started appearing with people not claiming a specific territory but participating in a government of their choice and living as a foreigner in their country of residence (If that seems weird, search for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, it exists today). Many big blocks exploded: China and US are now mostly a loose federation of hundreds of independent entities. Old countries still exist but are only considered like the king of Belgium: folklore from another time. What matters is that you are a member of the Episcopalian Ecologist Alliance of Baltimore or from the Geek Order of the Lemmy Budapest Fortress.

    I tend to find 1. more utopian but 2. far more fertile for ideas! Note that the 2 can be combined: federations become bigger and bigger but also looser with local independence becoming more real. To give you an example, the Basque country (a bit like Catalonia) is currently split between France and Spain but with these two countries becoming part of the EU, the border splitting the country is now irrelevant. Paradoxically, the existence of a supra-national entity may give independence movements access to a lot of their demands, but stop short of sovereignty.

    • The main geopolitical change is that oil is not going to be anymore a king-maker. I would expect a second Arab Spring (though the Arab world is more than just the Arabian peninsula) with more success. I would expect a lower influence of Russia as well.

      Yes, the decline in power of the petrostates would need to be handled well, and would definitely be important in figuring out how the overall landscape looks.

      There are two possible flavors of future and really, both are credible, it depends on the stories you want to tell: more integration in supra-national entities or more independent states.

      I think perhaps both could work at the same time (which I upon rereading see that you mentioned further down!)? More autonomy to regional entities within countries, but more collaboration on larger issues inside unions such as EU and AU (it would be difficult to avoid centralized power being forced down on local communities though). Maybe instead of seeing the EU moving towards a federal state, maybe we see the US moving towards something like the EU? There are several nations in Europe that would only be mid-sized states in the US, so I always found comparing single European countries to the US makes less sense than comparing the US and EU directly.

      Also, do not forget the UN. It could consolidate in a form of government. It already has a de facto minister of trade (WTO), of labor (ILO), of health (WHO), of education (UNESCO). It is a slow process but solving the climate crisis could have given it the political credit it is currently lacking.

      Interesting, I never thought of these bodies in that light before. I think the source of the lack of political credit is largely due to the ineffectiveness of the Security Council and the veto vote. I think a big change to this would be paramount for UN to work as some kind of "world government". And there is a fine line between such an organization being a force for good or a force for evil.

      • it would be difficult to avoid centralized power being forced down on local communities though

        Ok, may I put in a personal theory in there? One thing I would like to see is a kind of "soc-dem" wing that would take its inspiration from anarchism rather than marxism (talking purely about political theory there: most soc-dem see politics through the prism of class-struggle whereas anarchist see the class struggle as real but just as one of the many facets of oppression). This movement would focus at sabotaging the means of oppression by a simple mean: dilution of power. A diluted power allows for very quick action when there is consensus but very slow ones when there is not or when it is imposed.

        I think the source of the lack of political credit is largely due to the ineffectiveness of the Security Council and the veto vote.

        Disclaimer: I am kind of a UN fanboi. The UN is criticized for being overtly consensual. That's kind of what I want a government to be. How many organizations of this size do not receive much criticism for what they do but rather for what they don't do? There is no consensus for the use of force, then there is none. This is not a veto thing, many people think the veto is invincible but there is actually a procedure to overcome it. How otherwise would have Russia been expelled from UNCHR and sanctions against it decided?

        UN is the place for diplomacy, where goodwill has a chance to overcome idiocy and obsolete grievances. Does not work every time but this is a place to count your allies, to gauge your reputation and see how the world judges what you are doing. Things it puts in place do not make headlines because they are largely consensual yet they are responsible for the seamless working of the international aviation and international post, diseases eradication, saves millions of refugees lives every year, does pandemic surveillance (several pre-covid pandemics like MERS or SARS were contained thanks to them), prevents nuclear war through the IAEA and so on. Most people are not aware that it created a global currency reserved for states.

        I don't exactly ascribe to the [theory stating that it is a de-facto anarchist organization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchy_(international_relations\)) but a government that people do not see as a government because the one thing it does not have is a police and an army sounds very close to what an anarchist government would sound.

  • I've been doing a worldbuilding exercise for awhile, where I photobash together an image of a solarpunk scene and write some commentary about it. Maybe it'll help? https://jacobcoffinwrites.wordpress.com/postcards-from-a-solarpunk-future/

    I tend to write with the expectation that things will get worse before they get better. I have a couple reasons for this: 1, I think there are likely some hard times ahead and I want the folks there to have optimistic fiction that makes concrete suggestions for improving things. 2, it's a useful way to make changes in the setting. Why have rural areas contracted into denser villages with more wild land around them? The car/oil infrastructure became unreliable and a lot of houses in the endless sprawl became impractical or too expensive to commute from. Why are they prioritizing public transit? Because the roads were bad before the crumbles, they got worse in the bad days, and the populations have already mostly resettled in denser clumps that are a good fit for trains, ropeways, etc. Stuff like that.

    I tend to be a bit more concerned with day to day life, but I've been doing a fair bit of research, so if you find yourself looking for ideas on what a solarpunk apartment building, city street, rural homestead, or other location might look like, feel free to reach out, I've got tons of ideas.

    • I’ve been doing a worldbuilding exercise for awhile, where I photobash together an image of a solarpunk scene and write some commentary about it. Maybe it’ll help? https://jacobcoffinwrites.wordpress.com/postcards-from-a-solarpunk-future/

      Cool, I'm bookmarking this! You seem to have put a lot of thought into this, so it will definitely be an interesting read.

      I tend to write with the expectation that things will get worse before they get better. I have a couple reasons for this: 1, I think there are likely some hard times ahead and I want the folks there to have optimistic fiction that makes concrete suggestions for improving things. 2, it’s a useful way to make changes in the setting.

      Yeah, I anticipate that this will be the case for me as well. I find it unlikely that we all wake up tomorrow and agree to do everything differently. Too much is at stake for too many people who are well off today. So something big needs to happen that turns a lot of things upside down. And as you say, it is useful as a literary tool: rebuilding from a destroyed state gives a lot of freedom when the new is to be defined, as inertia is taken out of the picture. Not that I don't hope for the former being possible still...

      I tend to be a bit more concerned with day to day life, but I’ve been doing a fair bit of research, so if you find yourself looking for ideas on what a solarpunk apartment building, city street, rural homestead, or other location might look like, feel free to reach out, I’ve got tons of ideas.

      The story I have in mind is really something that could be set in a lot of different settings. It is not something that occurs because of the Solarpunk world, but merely inside it. I have a fairly clear picture of what things look like, but would always be interested to see what others have imagined. As I said, I've bookmarked your page, so I will make sure to reach out when the details will be chiseled out. I imagine the research for the transition from here to then will take up much time before then.

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