I take it to mean less pleasure, which I suppose is a form of suffering.

I don’t follow the logic of the comment you’re replying to that degrowth would be a hard sell to a democracy, but reducing comfort and pleasure wouldn’t.

IMO a great example is that it means not building floating skyscrapers powered by diesel fuel so that people can shop at a mall in the middle of the ocean.

They don’t mean “negative hedonism”, they mean “carbon-neutral or carbon-negative hedonism”. In other words, people are going to chose hedonism, comfort, fun, and consumption no matter what, so the only way to achieve these goals is to make hedonism carbon-neutral/negative.

I would take it as a return to community/family focus instead of selfish individualism

Hehe, yeah clarified that. Meant more things like lifting speed limits on Autobahns and other highways for EVs during excess energy renewable energy windows. Or effectively from May until October in Europe.