Against the wind: Local opposition to the German Energiewende

Reußwig, Fritz; Braun, Florian; Heger, Ines; Ludewig, T; Eichenauer, Eva; Lass, Wiebke

doi:10.1016/j.jup.2016.02.006

Cited by 143 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Two of the four protests were successful. Similar to the mentioned study by Reusswig et al [15] and in contrast to Aitken et al [17], the authors highlight the importance of local activists, who used direct argumentation and community mobilisation in the successful cases to influence two levels of decision-making, namely the local authority and the public enquiry. In particular, the campaigns exerted political pressure on locally elected decision-makers and raised money to hire experts in support of their cause.…”

Section: The Literature On Local Anti-wind Protests-the Research Gapsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…Moreover, state energy policy is not explicitly considered. The impact of protests is confirmed by Reusswig et al [15] in the relatively simple context of decision-making within a small German municipality. They traced how, under otherwise very favourable circumstances, local protest halted the detailed plans of a municipality to build three wind turbines before the approval procedure could be reached.…”

Section: The Literature On Local Anti-wind Protests-the Research Gapmentioning

confidence: 57%

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The politics of energy landscapes: the influence of local anti-wind initiatives on state policies in Saxony, Germany

Lintz

Leibenath

2020

Energ Sustain Soc

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Background: In recent years, landscapes in many countries have been transformed by efforts to fight global warming, specifically the shift towards renewable energies such as wind power. This development has been met by growing opposition from local citizens and their initiatives. There is an ongoing debate about whether and how such protests have a real impact on the development of energy landscapes. Methods: Drawing on the rare case of a state government scaling back ambitious targets for the expansion of renewables, the authors were able to analyse the impact of protests in the context of regional spatial planning and, particularly, state policy-making on energy. Conceptually drawing on the Advocacy Coalition Framework and using the method of causal-process tracing, the qualitative study investigates related interactions and decision-making processes in the federal state of Saxony, Germany, between 2011-when targets were increased-and 2013when targets were scaled back. Results: The findings show that the protests grew significantly when the raised expansion targets for renewables were translated into a higher number of potential wind farm sites. The protests, which primarily referred to landscapes, were well-organised and creative. Activists worked through a range of channels across various contexts and several levels of the politico-administrative system, in particular approaching regional spatial planners and a wide range of politicians. In the end, the protests (along with other factors) significantly contributed to the readjustment by the Saxon coalition government of its energy and climate policy and thus to a slowdown of energy-related landscape change. Conclusions: The study confirms that the influence of protesters can greatly exceed the previously studied participation in the planning of sites and the approval process for individual wind farms. Also highlighting other relevant co-influential factors, the paper contributes to the development of a middle-range theory of the impact of local opposition to wind power in the context of energy landscapes.

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Section: The Literature On Local Anti-wind Protests-the Research Gapsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: The Literature On Local Anti-wind Protests-the Research Gapmentioning

confidence: 57%

The politics of energy landscapes: the influence of local anti-wind initiatives on state policies in Saxony, Germany

Lintz

Leibenath

2020

Energ Sustain Soc

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“…Several researchers have argued that the more strongly people feel attached to their landscape, Bviewscape^ [84] or Bseascape( in the case of offshore wind parks, see [74•], 581]), the more likely they are to oppose wind parks because of aesthetic reasons [85]. Similarly, communities may fear a loss of cultural landscape and national heritage [82,86,87]. A conflict between local residents and wind park developers over the landscape and land use can be the result (see, for example, [81,88]).…”

Section: Negative Externalitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the distribution of these benefits can become a source of conflict between neighboring communities or within one. For example, while parts of a community may benefit in terms of land rents or sales or because they are part of an energy cooperative, other parts may not benefit and hence only focus on the negative externalities of the wind park [87,99].…”

Section: Negative Externalitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Nexus of Climate Change, Land Use, and Conflicts

Froese

Schilling

2019

Curr Clim Change Rep

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Purpose of Review The aim of this paper is to explore the nexus of climate change, land use, and conflict. A particular focus is placed on the human security risks associated with the three elements. Recent Findings Climate change has been perceived as a Bthreat multiplier,^directly aggravating human security risks, such as food and water insecurity, as well as indirectly contributing to (violent) conflict in regions vulnerable to climate change. In addition to climate change-related environmental risks, such as droughts and floods, land and land use can be affected by climate mitigation and adaptation measures. These include, for instance, large-scale renewable energy plants and relocation efforts. Summary It is not only important for decision-makers to take climate change impacts into account but also to assess the indirect risks associated with climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. For further research, it is hence promising to explore how conflict-sensitive approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation can be developed. Keywords Climate change. Conflict. Land use. Renewable energy. REDD+ This article is part of the Topical Collection on Climate Change and Conflict

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“…Regional and local authorities must locate suitable areas for wind energy generation through planning. However, the designation of areas suitable for wind energy generation is characterized by a hierarchical mode of governance, as lower administrative levels must adhere to statutory provisions to prevent the offense of the so‐called “Verhinderungsplanung” (Eichenauer, ; Leibenath et al., ; Reusswig et al., ; Wirth & Leibenath, ). From an institutional point of view, this top‐down governance process complies with the legally defined responsibilities of institutions involved at different scales.…”

Section: Citizen Participation In the German Energy Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges of Citizen Participation in Infrastructure Policy‐Making in Multi‐Level Systems—The Case of Onshore Wind Energy Expansion in Germany

Fraune¹,

Knodt²

2017

European Policy Analysis

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The German Energy Transition is one of the most important and largest infrastructure projects and one of the most significant challenges to German policy‐making. Empirical studies provide evidence for the notion that participation in the decision making process shapes local acceptance of renewable energy technology expansion. In the context of the German Energy Transition, the emphasis on participation in decision making processes seems to involve a paradox. Many different participatory measures have been implemented but many renewable energy projects do not reach a decent level of acceptability. In utilizing the concept of throughput legitimacy, we show that a major threat to legitimacy lies in the incoherent way conventional and unconventional forms of citizen participation are implemented at different scales. According to our analysis, the main challenges are to enable multi‐level participation and to transfer deliberative outcome to the representative system. In referring to innovative democratic procedures in Brazil, we present characteristics and features of participatory measures that may solve these challenges.

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Against the wind: Local opposition to the German Energiewende

Cited by 143 publications

References 15 publications

The politics of energy landscapes: the influence of local anti-wind initiatives on state policies in Saxony, Germany

The politics of energy landscapes: the influence of local anti-wind initiatives on state policies in Saxony, Germany

The Nexus of Climate Change, Land Use, and Conflicts

Challenges of Citizen Participation in Infrastructure Policy‐Making in Multi‐Level Systems—The Case of Onshore Wind Energy Expansion in Germany

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