Shortcomings and Perspectives of the German<i>Energiewende</i>

Haas, Tobias; Sander, Hendrik

doi:10.1080/08854300.2016.1183996

Cited by 20 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The bestselling book within the movement was Jungk's (1979) 'The Nuclear State'. The title confirms that the state was seen as the key actor in the nuclear programme, and the principal political opponent of the nuclear movement (Haas and Sander 2016).…”

Section: The German Energiewende and The State's Ambivalent Rolementioning

confidence: 63%

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From Green Energy to the Green Car State? The Political Economy of Ecological Modernisation in Germany

Haas

2020

New Political Economy

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In recent years, the role of the state in sustainability transitions has received increasing attention. Germany is often perceived as a forerunner in climate and environmental politics. Building on critical theories of the state, this paper explores the role of the German state in two key fields of society-nature relationships: energy (electricity) and transportation. Whereas Germany's energy transition (Energiewende) is widely praised internationally, its mobility transition (Verkehrswende) is a more difficult endeavour, as the German car industry is at the core of the national model of capitalism, specialising in the premium market segment. Against this background, Germany's status as an environmental leader is questioned as there is a strong state-capital nexus, which admittedly leaves space for green politics in case of intense social struggles. If, in addition, technological alternatives are developed embracing the potential to renew the country's 'accumulation strategy', the window of opportunity for green politics widens. In contrast to the Energiewende, which was at least partially accompanied by a decentralisation of power generation and the questioning of existing power relations, there is little indication that the German state will push for a mobility turnaround that goes beyond a limited greening of the automobile.

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Section: The German Energiewende and The State's Ambivalent Rolementioning

confidence: 63%

“…An example is the 'Renewable Energies Export Offensive', founded in 2002. At the same time, the payas-you-go promotion of renewable energies through the Special Compensation Scheme was designed in such a way that it did not endanger the competitiveness of German industry (Haas and Sander 2016).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Green Energy to the Green Car State? The Political Economy of Ecological Modernisation in Germany

Haas

2020

New Political Economy

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“…They were soon joined by other sectors of labor. Similar tensions between environmental interests and those of workers are seen in the case of the Ende Gelände protests in Germany (Haas and Sander, 2016; Wilkes and Parkin, 2018). Beginning in 2015, protesters engaged in civil disobedience by entering and shutting down the Garzweiler lignite (coal) mine and have continued and upscaled protests since.…”

Section: Toward An Environmental Labor Movementmentioning

confidence: 64%

A contribution to building unified movements for the environment: aligning interests, forming alliances

O'Byrne

2020

Human Geography

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The aim of this paper is to outline a way in which research can contribute to the advance of environmental social movements. Current struggles under capitalism are fragmented and localized, which means that creating unity out of fragmented struggles is essential for movements to become more successful. The Right to the City (RTC) as a concept, in its most radical formulation, has this ambition at its core. I examine various attempts from the RTC literature to promote unity, paying particular attention to the use of ideas of justice. In general these attempts are too abstract to be of practical use to existing movements. They do provide useful insight to researchers, by showing the necessity of paying attention to the context that particular movements operate in, but means of formulating advice for movement activists remain vague. I argue that to be more useful to movements, research should and can have something to say about the practical issues movements face, such as, how demands are framed and how to engage with other organizations. I argue that this can be done by bringing together analysis at a number of levels. In the case of movements of labor for the environment, Marxist geographic structural analysis can be combined with political and cultural analysis based on Gramsci’s theory of hegemony and analysis of the dynamics of movement emergence and advance using social movement theory. I argue that such a framework can connect a vision for radical change with the more immediate problems of organizing social movements.

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“…Contemporary framings for example closely associate the term Energiewende with Chancellor Angela Merkel's government's triple transformation transition project, which exists in its current form since 2011 (Röttgen, 2013;Schlögl, 2015). 'Merkel's Energiewende' includes a nuclear power phase-out, ambitious greenhouse gas emission reductions in line with international agreements, as well as energy efficiency goals which are to be achieved through building modernisation and a new mobility concepta project widely hailed as "one of the most ambitious national energy transition initiatives worldwide" (Moss et al, 2014: 1;Röttgen, 2013), an assessment that German researchers have approached with caution (Haas & Sander, 2016;Moss et al, 2014). Furthermore, the current conception as 'Merkel's Energiewende' has somewhat co-opted a broader, decadesold project, process and movement also known as Energiewende.…”

Section: Energiewendementioning

confidence: 99%

Deep entanglements: History, space and (energy) struggle in the German Energiewende

Paul

2018

Geoforum

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This paper contributes to recent debates in energy geography, especially to energy transition research and literature, by developing a critical and empirically grounded understanding of energy transitions as expressions of contentious socio-spatial politics, past and present. The paper argues that historical struggles and contentious political practices around energy, so called energy struggles, continue to inform the ongoing and dynamic socio-spatial politics of energy transitions today and often manifest themselves in transition narratives. This analysis is supported by qualitative empirical materials derived from recent fieldwork in Berlin, Germany, which was conducted within the broader left-green movement for a socioecological and democratic German Energiewende. A historicisation of contentious politics and energy struggles facilitates an empirically robust framing of energy transition projects as dynamic, multi-actor, and more than eco-technical processes. The paper's contribution to energy geographies is threefold; firstly, utilising an empirically robust and historically sensitive analysis of the German Energiewende, the paper explores the deep entanglements of history, space and struggle in energy transitions. Secondly, the paper emphasises the need to understand energy transitions as constituted by energy struggles and contentious politics, past and present. Thirdly, the paper examines emergent spaces of energy democracy as part of the Energiewende and explores recent energy democracy demands as a spatial politics of energy transitions.

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Shortcomings and Perspectives of the GermanEnergiewende

Cited by 20 publications

References 7 publications

From Green Energy to the Green Car State? The Political Economy of Ecological Modernisation in Germany

From Green Energy to the Green Car State? The Political Economy of Ecological Modernisation in Germany

A contribution to building unified movements for the environment: aligning interests, forming alliances

Deep entanglements: History, space and (energy) struggle in the German Energiewende

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