Identifying needs for participation and empowerment resulting from industrial transformation projects ahead oftime: method development

Abstract

The industrial transition toward greenhouse gas neutrality is a complex process that entails significant changes for society. This paper addresses issues of acceptance at the local level. It presents a systematic approach that aims to identify conflict potentials as well as local participation and empowerment needs in the context of the industrial transformation toward climate neutrality at an early stage. Furthermore, it aims to elaborate the characteristics of successful participation. The approach describes an iterative process whose core element consists of interviews with organized civil society actors within the spatial or thematic sphere of the transformation projects. The approach was tested and validated using the example of the planned CO₂ pipeline (North Sea CO₂ Corridor) by Open Grid Europe through the Rhenish lignite mining area. In addition to presenting the approach, this paper also presents the results of the validation process and the identified characteristics of successful participation.