Managing the coal exit in a mining region - Strategic landscape design and niche management for a sustainable socio-technical regime in Lusatia1

In the course of the European Green Deal, which defines the goal of “no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050" (European Commission, 2019, p. 2) and a supply of “clean, affordable and secure energy” (p. 3), the European energy sector needs a rapid and significant sustainability transition. In Germany, the federal government has accordingly decided to phase out energy production from lignite-fired power plants by 2038 at the latest. Most affected regional ecosystems in Germany are the Lusatia mining region (Lausitzer Revier), the Rhenish mining region (Rheinisches Revier) and the Middle German mining region (Mitteldeutsches Revier). In these regions, fundamental sustainability transitions have to take place.