Climate protection for municipalities - a discussion with mayors from Saxony

How do ideas from research get into practice? This interface is sometimes difficult to find, but was excellently mastered with the regional climate event in Oederan on April 27, 2023. The meeting was organized by the Saxon State Ministry for Energy, Climate Protection, Environment and Agriculture (German: Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Energie, Klimaschutz, Umwelt und Landwirtschaft, SMEKUL) together with the Climate Center at the State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology (German: Fachzentrum Klima im Landesamt für Umwelt, Landwirtschaft und Geologie, LfULG). Representatives of Saxon municipalities were able to inform themselves about climatic development trends and possible courses of action within the framework of expert lectures.

From the Boysen-TU Dresden Research Training Group, Marie Braun (Project F2: Landscape and energy transition) was in attendance and presented her scenarios for achieving climate neutrality in Oederan, which she developed as part of her master's thesis. She was also able to present her research project on the acceptance of renewable energies. Particularly valuable was the exchange with community representatives, who were able to report on their experiences in the planning process for the use of renewable energies. The desire to contribute to the energy turnaround is great, but problems in the implementation as well as resistance in the population complicate the process. Accordingly, Ms. Braun's doctoral project Landscape and Energy Transition addresses a central problem with acceptance research. In further work, it will be important to keep an eye on the interface between municipalities and the real planning process. The contacts made at the event are sure to make a valuable contribution to this.