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Urban Transition of the Heat Sector in Leipzig toward a Post-Fossil City?

Author

Listed:
  • Leonie Büttner

    (Department of Environmental Politics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH—UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany)

  • Dieter Rink

    (Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH—UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany)

Abstract

The transformation to a post-fossil city is one of the central urban challenges of the 21st century, with heat transition representing an important part of this process. In Germany, a structural change commission has proposed a complete phase-out of coal by 2038. For the city of Leipzig, which is located in a mining region, this opens up the possibility of a post-fossil transformation. Leipzig started an energetic retrofitting process within its housing sector several years ago, and is now planning to phase-out coal-fired district heating as early as 2023. This heat transition could turn Leipzig into one of the pioneering cities of post-fossil transformation. However, such a transition will be accompanied by numerous challenges and problems in the financial, political, technological, and labor sectors. Using the example of Leipzig, we conducted a document analysis and semi-structured interviews to investigate how a transition of the heating sector is conceptualized and planned, which governance structures have emerged, and how they work. In addition, our paper outlines the main interests and goals of the key actors and stakeholders in this transition, as well as their competences and resources. We emphasize that while Leipzig has committed itself to ambitious climate goals, up to now, the city has had no systemic approach for reducing local emissions. Although a window of opportunity has opened for a post-fossil heat transition, this still remains at a niche level due to a lack of interest, path dependencies, and weak governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonie Büttner & Dieter Rink, 2019. "Urban Transition of the Heat Sector in Leipzig toward a Post-Fossil City?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:21:p:6065-:d:282325
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Patricia Romero-Lankao & Harriet Bulkeley & Mark Pelling & Sarah Burch & David J. Gordon & Joyeeta Gupta & Craig Johnson & Priya Kurian & Emma Lecavalier & David Simon & Laura Tozer & Gina Ziervogel &, 2018. "Urban transformative potential in a changing climate," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 8(9), pages 754-756, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Izabela Jonek-Kowalska & Marian Turek, 2022. "The Economic Situation of Polish Cities in Post-Mining Regions. Long-Term Analysis on the Example of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-21, April.

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