AbstractIn 1980, the Federal Mining Act was introduced to govern the use of the German subsurface. By paying royalties, companies can get permission to exploit resources. Yet, there is no official report breaking down the payments for hydrocarbons and lignite, in particular regarding the effectively levied fees. Hence, the objective of this study is to provide an overview of the ownership and paid royalties, and to discuss the sustainable use and management of the German subsurface in the face of ecological, social, and economic impacts of resource exploitation. Our analysis shows that the subsurface is partly state- and partly company-owned. Lignite is almost exclusively privately owned by two companies. In contrast, hydrocarbons are predominantly state-owned. In 2017, on average 13% was paid in royalties for gas and 11% for petroleum. These royalties have minor impact on state budgets. For instance, in the concerned state of Lower Saxony, the levies amount to 189 million € or 0.6% of the state budget. Thus, the state income from royalties is low. However, local communities and property owners have no financial benefits. Finally, to obtain a more sustainable use of subsurface, the current Federal Mining Act must be adapted to account for environmental and social impacts.

中文翻译：

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谁拥有德国地下资源？德国地下的所有权和可持续治理

摘要1980 年，出台了《联邦采矿法》来管理德国地下资源的使用。通过支付特许权使用费，公司可以获得开发资源的许可。然而，还没有官方报告详细说明碳氢化合物和褐煤的支付情况，特别是有关有效征收的费用。因此，本研究的目的是概述所有权和支付的特许权使用费，并讨论德国地下资源开发对生态、社会和经济影响的可持续利用和管理。我们的分析表明，地下部分为国有，部分为公司所有。褐煤几乎完全由两家公司私有。相比之下，碳氢化合物主要为国有。2017年，天然气特许权使用费平均为13%，石油特许权使用费为11%。这些特许权使用费对国家预算影响较小。例如，在相关的下萨克森州，征税金额达 1.89 亿欧元，占州预算的 0.6%。因此，国家从特许权使用费中获得的收入很低。然而，当地社区和业主却没有任何经济利益。最后，为了更可持续地利用地下资源，必须调整现行的联邦采矿法以考虑环境和社会影响。