Between Tesla and coal mining - structural transformation in Brandenburg

With the opening of the Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide in Brandenburg in March 2022, an important and future-oriented global corporation has settled in Brandenburg, underlining Brandenburg’s ambitions as an attractive industrial location. At the same time, the coal region of Brandenburg’s Lausitz is in the midst of a structural transformation away from the coal industry, which has become even more topical with the decision to phase out coal energy by 2038 at the latest.

The federal government and the state want to invest billions in the region by then so that the transformation of Lusatia as a business location can succeed; in the course of this, Lusatia is even to become a pioneering region for Europe in terms of structural change. Nevertheless, thousands of people still work in open-cast lignite mining and many more are employed by suppliers. These people will need jobs of equal value in the coming years if the structural change is to be successful. At the same time, the reactions to Tesla’s settlement make it clear that even large prestigious economic objects can attract criticism and protests from the local population. Successful change without the involvement of the local population thus seems difficult to achieve. The former Minister-President of Brandenburg (2002 – 2013) Matthias Platzeck was one of the chairs of the 2018 Coal Commission, which developed recommendations for measures for the social and structural development of lignite regions as well as for their financial security and advocated an end to coal-fired power generation by 2038. We are very pleased to welcome Matthias Platzeck as our guest on 09.03.2023.

Together with you and Matthias Platzeck we want to discuss the following and other questions:

How can structural transformation be successfully shaped? What support is needed at federal and state level for this? What does it mean for Lusatia to be an EU model region in the field of structural change and how transferable are the results to Europe? How can we succeed in making rural areas attractive to young people in the future? How can politics succeed in reaching people in more rural areas better?

We look forward to your participation. We ask for a registration until 08.03.2023.