Contribution short abstract:

I analyze varigated processes of un/commoning in and around Pödelwitz, a village in the central German mining district that was saved from devastation. I then theorize a concept of climate justice grounded in the post-socialist condition of the central German mining district.

Contribution long abstract:

Pödelwitz is a village in the central German mining district south of Leipzig. It neighbors the active lignite mine Vereinigtes Schleenhain, which threatened its existence until recently. But Pödelwitz was saved from devastation, because local residents and climate activist resisted a planned expansion of the mine. From the resistance emerged the civil society initiative Pödelwitz hat Zukunft, which aims to transform Pödelwitz into a social-ecological model village in line with the values of climate justice. Commoning is a central economic principle in this transformation, which the initiative has realized on a small scale of repair cafes, give-and-take shops, and herbal gardens.

At the same time, there are overarching processes of uncommoning around Pödelwitz, which are significant obstacles to this transformation. The civil society initiative has struggled with acquiring and commoning a single piece of property, because the mining company Mibrag, or rather the Czech investor EPH, still owns 80% of the real estate in Pödelwitz, leaving the village in socio-economic abandonment. Moreover, the mining has destabilized the ecosystem and ground below the village. It is unclear whether EPH can be hold responsible for the ecological restoration of the landscape or will succeed in socializing these long-term costs and putting Pödelwitz in jeopardy for centuries.

Drawing on my collaborative fieldwork with the initiative, I will analyze these variegated process of un/commoning in and around Pödelwitz. Based on this analysis, I will then theorize a concept of climate justice as commoning, grounded in the post-socialist condition of the central German mining district.