04. October 2022Newsletter: Welcome to the Rhenish mining area special issue newsletter!
This issue of the CINTRAN network newletter focuses on the challenges of structural change in the German Rhineland region. We report on recent research into narratives used for shaping the debate, into understanding the social aspects of transition, we look at a mapping of perceived injustices in the transition process, and more. Enjoy the read!
Sharing the opportunities of transformation
The concept of Just Transition has become a guiding principle for managing structural change in coal regions. Yet, the more people you ask what “Just Transition” means, the more answers you will get. Just Transition has become a container term for all kinds of normative claims. The CINTRAN project is currently studying empirically which kinds of (in)justice(s) play a role in the affected regions. Read more about the political narratives on the transformation process in the Rhenish mining area employed by key stakeholders. Read more.
Indemann – Nordansicht by Cafezinho at de.wikipedia
Understanding the social aspects of transition: focus on Rhenish mining area
One of CINTRAN’s sister projects, ENTRANCES, is currently developing 13 regional case studies on European coal and carbon-intensive regions in transition. ENTRANCES‘ overall goals are developing an understanding of social aspects of the clean energy transition in European coal and carbon-intensive regions and formulating a set of recommendations to tackle these issues. An oncoming study report is focusing on the Rhenish mining area and its specific challenges regarding the social aspects of the local transition. Read more.
Frechen-Grube Carl, former coke factory by A.Savin, WikiCommons
Novel research to identify EU regions vulnerable to low-carbon transition
Fossil-fuel dependent regions, already faced with energy, socio-economic and migration-related challenges, are expected to carry a disproportionate share of the burdens of the energy transition. To alleviate the excess burden of the transition, one needs to know which regions are most at risk. A new socio-economic risk indicator developed by CINTRAN maps these regions across Europe. Read more.
How mapping injustices can help advancing a just transition
At a regional stakeholder workshop in the Rhenish Mining area, the CINTRAN researchers recently tested an injustice mapping framework that can be used as a tool for evaluating the performance of just transition instruments. Read more about the underlying framework, interim results of the mapping and an outlook onto developing an evaluation tool for just transition instruments. Find out more.
Building socio-economic resilience in at-risk regions – CINTRAN capacity building event
On 20 September 2022, 11:00 – 12:00 (CEST), the third CINTRAN capacity building event for the coal+ regions took place. It focuses on building socio-economic resilience in at-risk regions. Within this interactive webinar, you will get an overview of the 15 European regions at socio-economic risk, their challenges, and the key areas where they should focus to prepare for a successful just transition.
Read a recap here.
Recent publications
A Just Transition Toolbox for coal regions
Building on the fundamental belief that it will always be better to have a managed transition than an unmanaged structural change process, the Just Transition Toolbox aims to provide practical answers to the question of how to steer and support the shift away from coal on a regional level. It provides an overview of the most important practical learnings and concepts that help to kick off measures to diversify the local economies while at the same time supporting the local workers and communities. The publication is designed explicitly for practitioners in coal regions – policymakers in regional administrations, people working in or for ministries and other stakeholders who are or would like to be involved in a transition process. Find out more.
Comparing Coal Commissions – what to learn for future fossil phase-outs?
Over the last few years, several countries took the approach of setting up stakeholder commissions to organise their coal phase-outs. In a recent policy brief, CINTRAN researchers examined and compared the commissions of Germany, Canada, the Czech Republic and Chile, and briefly highlight Spain’s and South Africa’s similar approaches on how to organise a Just Transition. The respective national governments experienced to varying degrees political, economic, and societal pressure to deal with the future of coal. Simultaneously, they were confronted with uncertainties on how to organise the decline and how to overcome resistance against the decline. Download the paper here.
The CINTRAN project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 884539. The sole responsibility for the content of this website lies with the authors and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of CINEA or other EU agencies or bodies.