Majority of coal region residents in central Germany support coal exit – survey

The majority of people living near the central German coal mining region are in favour of the country's coal phase-out and as well as accompanying structural changes to local job markets, according to a survey conducted by the European Metropolitan Region of Central Germany. Of the respondents, 61 percent are in favor of the energy transition and 56 percent are in favor of the coal phase-out. The creation of attractive, well-paid jobs; the increase of wage levels and the expansion of the digital infrastructure are seen as key challenges by the residents. Three out of four respondents would like to see a strong vision of the region's future (75%), but only about one in four can identify such a vision so far (27%). "The results show people's fundamental willingness to change. At the same time, many still lack a strong vision for new economic prospects after the coal phase-out," said Werner Bohnenschäfer, project leader at the European Metropolitan Region of Central Germany.

The survey collected the opinions of 1038 residents in Leipzig, Halle and the districts of Altenburger Land, Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Burgenlandkreis, Leipzig, Mansfeld-Südharz, Nordsachsen and Saalekreis. Significantly more residents are in favor of the coal phase-out in the Central German coalfield than in the Lusatian coalfield in Eastern Germany, where only just over a third of residents are in favor of the coal phase-out (36%), the report says.