Research project in collaboration with Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie gGmbH and ifo Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung e.V. Dresden.
The lignite mining regions in Germany are facing a (renewed) structural change, not triggered by dwindling deposits or economic or technical conditions, but by a normative political decision to protect the climate and thus humanity from catastrophic effects of unchecked global warming. This deliberate political intervention results in a special obligation of the state to support the lignite regions.
Structural change in the coal regions is currently an important but certainly only a first example of a transformation that is advanced by climate policy. The commitment of the Paris Climate Agreement means that far-reaching changes are unavoidable in many other sectors and regions.
Against this background, structural policy, and in particular structural funding/promotion, is faced with new requirements and demands in terms of its impact and design. How can municipal development be successfully promoted in such a way that the goals of Agenda 2030 are addressed? How can conflicts of aims be resolved? What connections exist between structural policy and the global sustainability agenda? How can synergies between structural policy and sustainable development be made accessable in a targeted manner?
The project analyses past structural change processes and corresponding funding programmes as well as best practice examples of the present. Furthermore, the actors involved in structural change processes, both then and now, will be examined and their relationships and interactions analysed. Based on the results, recommendations for the municipalities affected by structural change will be generated, and further verified and developed with the actors in the relevant regions.
Closing Report: "Nachhaltige Kommunalentwicklung im Strukturwandel"
The project is funded by the Umweltbundesamt(UBA).
