Suchergebnisse

This case study examines the structural change in Lusatia caused by the system change from a centrally planned economy to a market economy over the investigation period 1990-2015. Large-scale de-industrialisation was a characterising factor, which also greatly affected the Lusatian lignite economy. The case study describes the historical structural change process and analyses the structural policies that were implemented as a reaction to this process. Its objective is to make this knowledge available for future structural change processes in other (coal) regions. For this purpose, the case study categorises the structural policy interventions as "preserving", "reactive" and "forward-looking" and evaluates their (intended) impact by using the dimensions "economy", "social welfare", "ecology" and "regional identity". The economic policy of the German federal government and the governments of the states involved has initiated various structural policy interventions over the course of time. For a long time, these interventions focussed on the economic region of "East Germany" as a whole and were not specific to Lusatia. Overall, the structural policy in Lusatia is considered as only modestly successful. In retrospect, the "Aufbau Ost" [reconstruction east; development of the East German states] policy (1990-1998) can be described as successful at least from an economic perspective. However, new structural patterns have developed, above all, in locations that were sufficiently attractive for external investors. In this respect, the structural policy was organised as an accompanying ("reactive") policy rather than as a (structure) forming policy. Today, Lusatia is still considered as being structurally weak. The analyses in this case study show that particularly in the early 1990s, the policy was concerned with cushioning the negative impact of the transformation-related structural change on the labour market. It was only towards the end of the 1990s that this "reactive" structural policy was replaced with a structural policy that focused more heavily on supporting the structural adaptation processes (hence making it forward-looking). This policy was based above all on stimulating innovation and still continues today. Using the impact dimensions developed by the project consortium, the structural policy interventions in Lusatia are primarily to be classified as serving the "economy" impact dimension and (at least until the end of the 1990s) as serving the "social welfare" impact dimension. This classification is also reflected in the societal discourse in the East German states and in Lusatia. The "ecology" impact dimension most likely played a part in the necessary renaturation measures in the areas affected by the closure of the lignite opencast mines or in the remediation of former industrial land. The "regional identity" did not play a part as an impact dimension in the structural policy programmes.

Gegenstand der vorliegenden Fallstudie ist der durch den Systemwechsel von der Plan- zur Marktwirtschaft ausgelöste Strukturwandel in der Lausitz im Untersuchungszeitraum 1990-2015. Prägend war vor allem eine starke Deindustrialisierung. Hiervon war auch die Lausitzer Braunkohlewirtschaft in starkem Maße betroffen. Die Fallstudie beschreibt den historischen Strukturwandelprozess und analysiert die in Reaktion auf diesen Prozess umgesetzte Strukturpolitik mit dem Ziel, dieses Wissen für in Zukunft anstehende Strukturwandelprozesse in anderen (Kohle-)Regionen zur Verfügung zu stellen. Zu diesem Zweck kategorisiert die Fallstudie die strukturpolitischen Interventionen in "konservierend", "nachsorgend" und "vorausschauend" und bewertet ihre (intendierten) Wirkungen anhand der Dimensionen "Ökonomie", "Soziales", "Ökologie" und "regionale Identität". Die Wirtschaftspolitik des Bundes und der beteiligten Länder entwickelte im Laufe der Zeit eine Vielzahl unterschiedlicher strukturpolitischer Interventionen. Dies geschah lange mit einem Fokus auf den Wirtschaftsraum "Ostdeutschland" insgesamt und nicht spezifisch für die Lausitz. Die Strukturpolitik in der Lausitz wird insgesamt als nur mäßig erfolgreich bewertet. Die Politik des "Aufbau Ost" (1990-1998) kann im Rückblick zumindest aus ökonomischer Sicht als erfolgreich bezeichnet werden. Allerdings haben sich neue Strukturmuster vor allem an solchen Standorten herausgebildet, die eine hinreichende Attraktivität für externe Investoren aufwiesen. Die Strukturpolitik war insoweit eher begleitend, statt (struktur-)gestaltend ausgerichtet. Auch heute gilt die Lausitz noch als strukturschwach. Wie die Analysen dieser Fallstudie zeigen, war die Politik vor allem in den frühen 1990er Jahren darauf bedacht, die negativen Auswirkungen des transformationsbedingten Strukturumbruchs auf den Arbeitsmarkt abzufedern. Erst gegen Ende der 1990er Jahre wurde diese "nachsorgende" Strukturpolitik auf eine stärker auf die Unterstützung struktureller Anpassungsprozesse ausgerichtete (und damit vorausschauende) Strukturpolitik ersetzt, die sich vor allem auf die Innovationsförderung stützte und bis heute fortgeführt wird. Legt man die vom Projektkonsortium entwickelten Wirkungsdimensionen zugrunde, so lassen sich die strukturpolitischen Interventionen in der Lausitz vor allem den Wirkungsdimensionen "Ökonomie" und (zumindest bis zum Ende der 1990er Jahre) "Soziales" zuordnen. Dies spiegelt sich auch in den gesellschaftlichen Diskursen in den ostdeutschen Bundesländern und in der Lausitz wider. Die Dimension "Ökologie" spielte am ehesten bei den notwendigen Renaturierungsmaßnahmen in den von der Stilllegung des Braunkohletagebaus betroffenen Gebieten bzw. bei der Sanierung altindustrieller Flächen eine Rolle. Die "regionale Identität" spielte als Wirkungsdimension in den strukturpolitischen Programmen keine Rolle.

Effective policies to mitigate climate change need to be accompanied by a socially just transition. This is especially relevant for coal regions. This paper draws on the experiences of past and ongoing transition policies, exploring their effectiveness and transferability. The challenges of structural change in coal regions are complex and region-specific, spanning from technical aspects over political and economic to social and cultural aspects. To facilitate the exchange of experiences, a typology is suggested and applied to five coal regions in Germany, Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic. It characterises regions according to the type of coal mined, population density, economic prosperity, existence of national coal phase-out policies, advancement of regional transition strategies and the anticipated speed of transition. Insights are mainly derived from two different structural change processes in Germany. The hard coal mining phase-out in the Ruhr area that started in the 1950s and has recently been completed is compared with the more recent lignite mining phase-down in Lusatia. A new approach can be observed: As climate change has become a major driver of structural change, time frames for structural policies have become significantly shorter, and such policies are being shaped by more proactive engagement. Lessons learnt include the need for proactive and forward-looking structural policies and the importance of timing. Regions should set realistic expectations on structural policy and develop strategies that account for their individual situation whilst learning from past experiences in other regions. Uncertainties should be communicated in a transparent manner. Diversification of the economy is needed to avoid lock-in effects. Stakeholder participation, just transition strategies as well as multi-layered and multi-faceted governance approaches are key aspects as well. With the European Green Deal, a strategy is highlighted that can facilitate a just transition in coal regions in the future.