BANGKOK, October 1, 2025 — A powerful collaboration of Asian thought leaders convened during the Bangkok Climate Action Week (September 28 – October 5) to challenge conventional climate narratives and imagine sustainable futures rooted in the region's unique culture and geography.

Abundant Climate Action Institute, in partnership with the Futurist Circle (未来学家俱乐部), SEAPUNK Studios, and Wildbound (野声), hosted the event, "In Search Of Hope-Full Futures: Fresh Climate Imaginations Through Games, Fiction & Dialogue," at the Sea Junction bookstore located in the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

The setting—surrounded by Southeast Asian history and facing the sea—highlighted the event’s central theme: exploring a path toward sustainability by embracing the maritime pulse and complex realities of the archipelagic region. More than 50 participants braved the rain, demonstrating a strong regional hunger for innovative climate dialogue.

Redefining Climate Narratives Through Science Fiction and Metaphor

The four-hour session kicked off with a compelling keynote from renowned science fiction author Stanley Chen Qiufan (陈楸帆), titled Why We Need New Metaphors for Climate Change.

Stanley, whose work often explores the intersection of technology, ecology, and culture, argued that current climate narratives, often focused on "countdown" timers or "climate wars", are predominantly Western, human-centric, and insufficient for addressing the complexity of the modern polycrisis. He stressed:

"If we want a new future, we must first create new narratives; and to create new narratives, we must start by inventing new metaphors."

Stanely called for creators to join him in summoning a completely new symbolic language, exemplified by his recently published climate novel, The Vasts of Time (刹海).

The Asian Perspective: From "Sea Junction" to New Metaphors

A 100-minute panel discussion, hosted by Li Yan (李雁) of Abundant Climate, featured Stanely Chen Qiufan alongside Sze Ping Lo (卢思骋) of Sequoia Climate Foundation, Sam Chua of SEAPUNK Studios, and Songqiao Yao (姚松乔) of Wildbound. The discussion centered on understanding humanity’s place in history, defining a desirable future, and identifying key actions required now.

A number of keywords emerged from this unexpectedly profound and poetic roundtable, closely linked to the realities of China and Southeast Asia: the "decolonization" and "rewilding" of imagination, human "subjectivity" or "agency," "resilience," the "mycelial network" and "connection" of the youth, and the "imaginary community," among others.

• Sze Ping reviewed the history of colonization and resistance experienced by the lands and archipelagos of Southeast Asia, arguing that we are currently at a point of simultaneous instantaneity (刹) and unlimited possibility (海)("刹海" moment). This is an instant full of infinite possibility, yet one that can pass in a flash. He called upon the Asian intellectual community to produce their own theories and metaphors to support Asia's future path. He also urged activists to focus on the "present moment," as the future is being summoned right now through our actions.

• Songqiao approached the discussion from the macro perspective of regenerative thinking; examining the vast scale of "deep time," she suggested humanity is still in its "adolescence." "We are shifting from an era of thinking 'who we are' to defining 'how we are connected to all things,'" she stated. She envisioned a "mycelial network"-like landscape where more and more young people are refusing to be conscripted as "rockets," choosing instead to "take root" underground and become "potato people," building deep relationships and communities. To imagine tomorrow, the stage must be fully opened to young people, allowing them to summon the as-yet-unformed future.

• Sam, founder of the new co-creation community SEAPUNK, views us as being at a "Sea Junction" (full of possibilities in every direction) and in a state of "indigestion" (requiring stories to metabolize information). The SEAPUNK community and its projects are dedicated to creating positive, low-carbon visions for tomorrow rooted in Southeast Asia (SEA, which is also shorthand for "sea"). For example, a resilient, bottom-up system unafraid of disaster, where street vendors in Southeast Asia can access affordable, modular low-carbon technology via the supply chain, bringing solar panels and energy storage components into every community, and becoming the central climate actors of the future. In this voyage of searching for these visions, stories are essential. "Stories are the magical digestive system that converts complexity into meaning."

• In the view of Stanely, who focuses on both ecological and technological issues, evolutionary history suggests humanity is on the eve of a new "symbiotic singularity," particularly with silicon-based intelligence. He foresees a future of "consciousness upgrade." He hopes humanity can achieve true empathy by sharing "suffering," forming an "imaginary community of suffering." He called for supporting and motivating young storytellers, artists, and creators to collectively tell new stories about the future of Earth, humanity, and all life.

  
  

Dreams and Disruptions: World-Building Workshop

The event concluded with a "Dreams and Disruptions" game workshop, led by Louis Zheng Keji, which saw participants creating intensely complex speculative futures. These stories, such as "Starlight on Volcanic Ash" (exploring wealth limits in a Muslim Asia context) and "Abyss of the Sea" (deep-sea civilization where sentient AI goes on 'soul strike'), reflected the panelists' themes of complexity, multi-species collaboration, and the tension between old systems and new consciousness.

The successful event confirmed the momentum behind localized, culturally relevant climate action. In the future, Abundant Climate also hopes to find a role to play in advancing regional climate cooperation, especially in areas such as narrative building and innovative financial models. Like-minded partners are welcome to join us for exchange and discussion!