URBI Science Talk - 30.6.2022, 15 Uhr, Mehrzwecksaal (Wall Gebäude)

Wegener Center für Klima und Globalen Wandel
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ilona Otto in Diskussion mit
Franziska Stölzel, M.A., United Nations University, UNU-FLORES, Dresden
„Can decarbonization be just? Insights from net-zero transition case studies”

Achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement requires phasing out coal and other fossil fuels in national energy systems. Financial support for the low-carbon energy transition in the European Union is secured through the Just Transition Fund that aims to support coal-dependent regions in their phase-out process. However, conflicts of interest by stakeholders hinder a faster phase-out as they dominate the discourse and design of transition processes. The speakers will discuss the role of local stakeholders in European coal transition regions, their perceptions and understanding of justice, and future visions of their regions. We will present research results from three European lignite coal dependent regions: Gorj in Romania, Eastern Greater Poland in Poland, and Lusatia in Germany. The research was carried out within the REBOOST: A Boost for Rural Lignite Regions Project funded by the EIT Climate KIC.

Franziska Stölzel works as a research associate at the United Nations University in the Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources. She is a social scientist with a focal point on social change and regions in transformation. Her interests include climate and gender justice and the socially acceptable coal phase-out in economically weak regions. Her main focus areas are on the Resource Nexus and the SDGs in coal mining regions.
See under ...