Germany’s lignite mining regions have received nearly 14 billion euros in support since 2013

Lignite mining regions in Germany received at least 13.8 billion euros in state support between 2013 and 2017 to help them cope with the challenges of structural economic change, the German government says in an answer to a parliamentary inquiry initiated by the Green Party. More than 5 billion euros were directed at the western Rhenish coal district, 2.9 billion euros at the eastern German region of Lusatia, 1.4 billion to the Helmstedt district and 4.4 to the Central German mining district near Leipzig. “These figures are far below the actual support payments as there is no regional breakdown for all support programmes, such as the European Structural and Investment Funds,” the government says. It adds that, at the end of 2016, about 19,850 people were still directly employed in the lignite industry and another 12,000 jobs directly depended on the industry’s well-being. For Lusatia, this meant a 2 percent share of regular jobs. The respective figure for the Rhenish coal district was 1.1 percent.

Find the government’s response in German here.

See the CLEW factsheet Germany’s three lignite mining regions for background.