"The energy transition is a social process. And it takes time. Although the topic has now been recognised, innovations have been established, we are using more renewable energy sources - the first phase of this transition is behind us. But now we need to consolidate all of this and find solutions that go beyond individual technologies. If this succeeds, it will in turn accelerate the change. However, this acceleration process is challenging.

Until recently, we in Germany have seen how politicians have tended to reduce their commitment in this regard. It is a mistake to believe that after the first phase of transition, the rest will take care of itself. We analysed this using the example of Oldenburg and found that what has been achieved is very fragile. The energy transition needs constant political support, funding programmes, windows of opportunity - for a long time. And a lot of things have been cut back in Germany according to the motto: "It'll work now".

It's not enough just to give it a boost. Politicians have probably underestimated this fragility - even in the current advanced phase of the energy transition. Take wind energy, for example: there was a switch from feed-in tariffs to auctions, which was particularly challenging for small companies. Even if this was not the aim of the policy, a number of companies went bankrupt or abroad or changed sectors as a result. And if a lot is suddenly supposed to happen now, the question is on what basis.

In order to accelerate the transition, it is now important to link the sectors more closely, so that companies increasingly think about wind and hydrogen together, for example, or electricity and heat, or electricity and transport. In addition to the technical complexity, this will also be enormously challenging in terms of social co-operation.

Socially, the current energy crisis may be an opportunity to increase acceptance of renewable energies - because everyone now realises that it concerns them. However, it remains to be seen whether this personal involvement will also increase the willingness to accept a wind farm near one's own home, for example. In any case, what promises success is a genuine dialogue to get people involved at the end of projects."

Prof. Dr Jannika Mattes is Professor of Organisation & Innovation at the Institute of Social Sciences. She and her team conduct research into the regional energy transition, among other things.