DREBKAU, GERMANY – AUGUST 20: A bucket-wheel excavator removes the first layer of soil for the expansion of the nearby Welzow open-pit lignite coal mine on August 20, 2010 near Drebkau, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Hello: I am making this post to show my research question, a brief overview of my goals for my research, and to include my draft survey for your review!
Research Question:
How has the German government included support for workers in the coal industry and citizens experiencing higher costs in the legal and policy frameworks during its transition away from coal?
My research aims look specifically at the policy providing national and local relief and training that has been implemented into the German frameworks for transitioning to green energy. Based on the literature I have reviewed, I would argue that the German system combines federal planning scaling back fossil fuel production with investment and job support in coal-reliant communities to ensure that its citizens are not harmed by the energy transition. This topic is applicable to how Germany carries out its energy transition, as well as the role it plays in aiding citizens with lost jobs. I aim to start researching in a broader sense first, focusing on the national government of Germany and inclusion of data on how the EU has transitioned away from coal. Then it would make sense to scale to more specific research on German jobs on the local level and policy towards the transition. I would research the Coal Commission that was formed in the country to formulate just transitioning policy, as well as provide an overview of regional aid programs and investments.
Link: https://forms.gle/yns8GSxURqTcVHEz8
Bibliography
Furnaro, A., Loot, W., Kemfert, C., Oei, P.-Y., Brauers, H., & Herpich, P. (n.d.). German just transition: A review of public policies to assist German coal communities in Transition. Resources for the Future. Retrieved February 13, 2023, from https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/german-just-transition-a-review-of-public-policies-to-assist-german-coal-communities-in-transition/
Germany’s “Coal commission”: Guiding an inclusive coal phase-out. World Resources Institute. (2021, April 1). Retrieved February 13, 2023, from https://www.wri.org/update/germanys-coal-commission-guiding-inclusive-coal-phase-out
Kalt, T. (2021). Jobs vs. climate justice? contentious narratives of labor and climate movements in the coal transition in Germany. Environmental Politics, 30(7), 1135–1154. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2021.1892979
Lehr, U., Lutz, C., & Edler, D. (2012). Green Jobs? economic impacts of renewable energy in Germany. Energy Policy, 47, 358–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.04.076
Oei, P.-Y., Brauers, H., & Herpich, P. (2019). Lessons from Germany’s hard coal mining phase-out: Policies and transition from 1950 to 2018. Climate Policy, 20(8), 963–979. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2019.1688636
O’Sullivan, M., & Edler, D. (2020). Gross employment effects in the renewable energy industry in Germany—an input–output analysis from 2000 to 2018. Sustainability, 12(15), 6163. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156163
Zaina Haj Issa February 19, 2023
Hello, Noah! Thank you for sharing your research. I wasn’t aware that Germany was
transitioning to green energy. It’s nice to hear that the government wants to provide support to the coal workers. I agree with your research process since it would make more sense to start your research on why the German government decided to transition to green energy and they plan on implementing it and then start to focus on the aid for coal-reliant communities. Over the past couple of years, many of my family members immigrated to Germany and they were welcomed with open arms. Now, they live with the same rights as a German citizen. Because of that, I am not surprised to know that the German government wants to support the community.
You included a question in your survey that I would like to ask you – what is your perception of how the German government has supported workers in the coal industry transitioning away from fossil fuels?
Ziwei Zhu February 19, 2023
Dear Noah,
Thank you for sharing your research question and the information you provided in your post. I didn’t know that Germany was transitioning to using green energy before reading your post.
From what I understand, the research will examine how the government of Germany or the EU transitioned from coal and how they implement policies to relieve and assist citizens. It is interesting that you ask this question because I have always focused on the positive aspects of the transition to green energy. However, I haven’t really considered how it will affect people. As a result, I am very interested in your research topic and I am curious about what government investments and programs are in place to assist this transition.
I would like to ask you that if effective policies and programs are implemented to assist the transition, what challenges may arise? The government’s perspective may be as well as the citizen’s perspective.
shamma February 19, 2023
Hello Noah,
Thanks for sharing your research question and goal as well as the information in your post. Before reading your post, I had no idea Germany was making the switch to green energy. After reading your research question I felt curious and would like to know more about how the German government provided that support. It is also great to hear that the government is ensuring that its citizens are not harmed by the energy transition. I feel that it is crucial to first examine how EU transitioned away from coal in order to then specify your research on German jobs and the local-level policy towards the transition. I also had a look through the survey, the questions you have are great and will help you get the results you need. I liked the idea that you are researching and looking at the reasons, processes, and not only the result of the change. I hope you do provide us with your final research paper so we can read it. Good Luck!
I also have a question do you think of including other stuff like the effect of the support on people’s acceptance of change and do you think that people may have resisted the change if they were not supported?
Rakshan Wazir Badshah February 19, 2023
Hi Noah, first of all, I want to express my gratitude for providing this important information, as I don’t believe many people, including myself, were aware of the training that has been incorporated into the German frameworks for switching to green energy. I agree with your assessment since I think that many industries, in particular, tend to be more concerned with their own benefits than with the safety of the public. It absolutely astounds me how your research is taking into account everything from their safety to assisting residents with lost employment. I may not be familiar with how the citizens of Germany live, but coming from a highly hardworking family, losing jobs were a significant component to achieving. Also, after doing some research of my own, I discovered that roughly 46% of German electricity consumption is anticipated to come from renewable sources, which is impressive given how numerous other countries are still having trouble.
Nevertheless, I have a question for you: Considering that China is now leading the international rankings and Germany is fourth, how long do you think it will take Germany to catch up?
Fathima Farhana Moyikkal February 19, 2023
Thank you so much Noah for introducing your research! The topic is definitely an interesting one and is new to me. I was not aware that Germany was trying to transition from coal to green energy. The research question you are asking is definitely an important one. Many people tend to fixate on surface-level aspects of energy transition in countries. However, one of the most important parts is how the country will support communities associated with the non-renewable energy industry. These groups of people and policies related to them have often been neglected in the news about climate change. I went through your references and the survey. I have a few recommendations. I suggest adding a short introduction to your topic in the survey for participants to have a better grasp of your research. I also suggest you add a word count for the questions so that participants have an idea of how much they need to write. I noticed in the form you made just one question required to answer while others were not. Is there a specific reason for that? I look forward to reading your findings and I hope you have a successful research experience! Have a great week!
Hala Ali Bodaka February 19, 2023
Hi Noah,
Thank you so much for sharing your research and providing information that I have never knew or heard about!
I was amazed knowing that Germany’s government is one of the countries that ensures that its citizens are not harmed by the energy transition and that it also helps and support citizens with lost jobs. I have done a little bit of research on the EU and how it has transitioned away from coal and what I have read is that it is a key partner in supporting Germany’s transition away from coal, through policy frameworks, funding, and other forms of support where it sets targets for increasing the share of renewable energy and it improves energy efficiency, and this shows that it has helped to accelerate Germany’s transition to renewable energy sources and actually there are a lot more of ways in which the EU has contributed to this transition for example the Energy Union, the clean energy package , trading system and a lot of other ways.
Do you think that Germany switching to green energy would be seen as a model for other countries seeking to transition to a low-carbon economy?
I would love to read the rest of your research on the EU because honestly, it’s such an interesting topic to read about.
Good luck!
Josephmary October 27, 2023
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