COPIED
3 mins

Restructuring of the Czech coal mining regions

Milada Hronkova Milo Soukup

Three regions in Czech Republic are structurally lagging behind. These regions are affected by the reduction in coal production and the phasing out of heavy industry, which inevitably has a large impact on their economic performance. In 2017, the Czech government adopted a strategic framework (RE:START strategy) aimed at the restoration of the Ústí,Moravian-Silesian and Karlovy Vary regions to ensure a systematic and long-term approach to solving the problems of these regions.

The strategy, which included a large number of regional and national stakeholders in its preparation, is led by the Ministry of Regional Development. The strategic framework defines seven pillars (business and innovation, direct investments, research and development, human resources, social stabilisation, environment, and infrastructure and public administration) to speed up economic growth and change the economic structure of these regions.

The Czech government has already approved three action plans that consist of 94 different measures across all strategic pillars. Currently, one-third of these measures have been finalised in the regions and Czech Republic has managed to support projects worth CZK 8 billion (data as of 31 July 2020). The preparation of the fourth action plan of the RE:START strategy is ongoing.

The greatest success of the strategy so far has been the establishment of cooperation among the three regions, mainly through support for infrastructure and the modernisation of university educational programmes, low-emission public transport services, the revitalisation of real estate and the regeneration of brownfields, for example.

In response to the new legislative requirements of the European Green Deal, and the climate commitments of Czech Republic, a new horizontal priority titled ?Transformation of the energy sector and reduction of coal mining? has been added to the RE:START framework for 2020. The main goal is to mitigate the consequences of the energy and coal mining transformation and to modernise the economy through new incentives.

“The greatest success of the RE:START strategy so far has been the establishment of cooperation among the three lagging behind regions”

This new pillar consists of three strategic objectives that support the implementation of new productive investments in the following areas: assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises, research and innovation, investments in technologies and infrastructure for a low-carbon economy, digital technologies, decontamination, soil revitalisation, the circular economy and the development of skills to improve employees' qualifications and provide active assistance to job seekers. Following these changes, it is thus possible to link the process of economic restructuring with the process of preparation of the Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) and the Just Transition Fund. In cooperation with the regions, the TJTP and standard measures are gradually being prepared to fulfill the main goal of this process, namely to direct coal regions towards energy transformation, modernisation and diversification of the economy of those regions.

“In the Karlovy Vary region, an EU grant was used to reduce emissions of NOx, SO2 and solid pollutant emissions from the brown coal-fired Tisová power station”

An example of successful implementation is the project of Jan Evangelista Purkyne University in Ústí nad Labem (CZK 700 million). The project includes the construction of a new building for the Faculty of Medical Studies on the premises of Masaryk Hospital in Ústí nad Labem and the completion of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering on the university campus. New teaching spaces and special laboratories will enable the development of new studies at the university.

In the Karlovy Vary region, an EU grant (EUR 2.86 million) was used to reduce emissions of NOx, SO2 and solid pollutant emissions from the brown coal-fired Tisová power station. Another project that has received EU support (EUR 2.72 million, IROP) was focused on the acquisition of a low-floor, emission-free, high-capacity tram connection between the cities of Most and Litvínov (15 km, Ústí region).

The RE:START strategy includes, among other things, measures to support the revitalisation and particularly the resocialisation of reclaimed areas after the phasing out of mining. The aim is to use the Just Transition Fund to implement such focused activities. One of the goals of the strategy is to build on the already completed reclamation projects at Lake Milada or Lake Most, for example, which have led to the development of former coal-mining areas. The attractiveness of the regions to tourists can bring new stability and improve the economic and social situation of people in these three regions.

This article appears in A regional geography of COVID-19

Go to Page View
This article appears in...
A regional geography of COVID-19
Go to Page View
Editorial
As Europe experiences the second wave of the
David Sassoli President of the European Parliament
"COVID-19 has revealed many realities: it has revealed
Markus Kerber State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community of Germany
In his message to TerritoriALL., Markus Kerber highlights
ESPON has a new director: Wiktor Szydarowski
Wiktor Szydarowski is since September 2020 the new
A new reading of the COVID-19 outbreak
 Geography of the covid-19 outbreak and first policy answers in European regions and cities
A regional geography of the first wave in Europe
Between February and July 2020, the uneven circulation
Regions and cities responding to the crisis
The very strong differentiation of trajectories that emerged
The Greater Region acts as a European Laboratory during the COVID-19 crisis
Roland Theis In the Greater Region, we are
Cross-border cooperation in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis
Pavel Branda The current unprecedented crisis has put
Challenges, policy responses and prospects for the EU regions
Bert Kuby Wolfgang Petzold The impact of the
The impact on European cities and metropolitan areas - Brussels-Capital
Alfredo Corbalan COVID-19, pandemics and urban areas When
Spatial features and contributions from EU projects in Lombardy
Luisa Pedrazzini ITALY – COVID-19 Contagion distribution by
Supporting Interreg in its coordinated response to the global crisis
Petra Masacova COVID-19 has radically changed the world
How can the urban environment become a health generator?
Emmanuel Moulin TThe COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably changed
Sharing solutions for COVID-19 recovery
Erwin Siweris Creating an environment and opportunities for
Just Transition Fund: A green blueprint for a resilient recovery in Europe
Manolis Kefalogiannis Europe is now considering how best
Structural change in EU coal phase-out regions
Vassilen Iotzov Recent debates on the just
Restructuring of the Czech coal mining regions
Milada Hronkova Milo Soukup Three regions in Czech Republic are
A just transition for Western Macedonia - an irreversible path to sustainable growth
Tasos Chatzellis The Western Macedonia Region (WMR) is
Structural change in Lausitz
Kathrin Schneider Effective climate action is a task
Territorial Agenda in practice: 6 Pilot actions
Kai Bohme In Europe, increasing inequalities between people
‘A future for lagging regions’
Daniel Meltzian The Territorial Agenda 2030 (TA2030) is
Region-focused Territorial Impact Assessment
I Patrycja Artymowska The partners in the pilot
Climate change adaptation and resilience through landscape transition
Ana Seixas The Territorial Agenda 2030 (TA2030) pilot
Coming soon: The Atlas for the Territorial Agenda 2030
Volker Schmidt-Seiwert The Territorial Agenda 2030 (TA2030) sets
Maritime spatial planning and land-sea interactions
Michaela Gensheimer Population density per NUTS2 within catchment
Land Sea Interactions: an integral part of the maritime and coast al planning
Joanna Constantinidou Understanding and addressing the interaction between
Sustainable management of coast al and marine zones
Michelle Borg The evolution of coastal and marine
No shipping without land, no beach fun without the sea
Holger Janßen With regard to my self-image as
Preparing the Romanian territorial country fiche
- Radu Necsuliu Amalia Vîrdol When the first territorial
Possible and desired territorial futures for the Baltic Sea Region
Liene Gaujeniete How do we plan for a
Taking transnational cooperation forward in central Europe
Anna Sirrocco The ESPON CE-FLOWS targeted analysis is
Natural risk management in the Po Basin, Italy
Adriana May Why is research on the economic
Spatial planning and climate change
Ludwig Scharmann People still remember the state of emergency
Ageing matters to all of us
Julia Wadoux Europe is ageing - there
Demolishing Picasso?
Christin Krohn Zintis Hermansons Cultural heritage can
Rural areas should ride the wave of COVID-19 recovery
Andrew Copus Rural depopulation has been a legitimate
Supporting cities and regions in measuring and monitoring digital transformation
Martin Gauk Digital transformation and the scaling up
Urban and economic transformation of metropolitan areas
Rudolfs Cimdins Metropolitan areas across Europe face visible
Adopting regional policies to support the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Roberta Capello, Camilla Lenzi, Reda Nausedaite A review
Results of the public consultation on the strategic orientation of the next ESPON programme
A contribution from the ESPON Managing Authority
Activities implemented through Thematic Action plans
Fictive example for a TAP
Upcoming ESPON events Transnational Outreach
Due to the COVID-19 restrict ions, all event swill take place online
Outlook of the Portuguese presidency
Ana Seixas As we face great social
Looking for back issues?
Browse the Archive >

Previous Article Next Article