Whether heat, drought, floods or forest fires: the consequences of climate change are becoming increasingly clear – also in Germany. Since July 1, 2024, the first German Climate Adaptation Act has therefore required the federal, state and local governments to prepare for the consequences of climate change. However, smaller towns and communities in particular often lack the specialist staff to do this. How well are they making progress with climate protection despite this?
Since Germany’s first climate adaptation law came into force on July 1, 2024, municipalities have had to actively find ways to prevent the devastating consequences of climate change and the extreme weather it triggers. But how well is this already working? Researchers led by Thomas Friedrich from the Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE) in Frankfurt am Main have surveyed more than a thousand cities, districts and municipalities in Germany about their progress and challenges in climate protection. In an interview, Friedrich reports on the results:
What measures are already being implemented?
Thomas Friedrich: A typical measure is the maintenance of green spaces and their redesign to suit the climate. Just over half of all municipalities stated that they water public green spaces in hot and dry weather. Around a third of the municipalities mentioned the selection of tree and plant species adapted to the climate and location or measures to renature water bodies and grassland.
In many cases, however, measures are planned or implemented that create the conditions for climate adaptation measures in the first place, such as campaigns to educate and sensitize the population. And that is a good thing. Because the acceptance of the local population is crucial for the long-term successful implementation of climate adaptation measures. This also includes being able to understand the necessity and urgency of climate adaptation.
And where do municipalities reach their limits?
By far the biggest challenge in planning and implementing climate adaptation measures is said to be a lack of human and financial resources. But also the municipal administrative structure: more than 80 percent of those surveyed stated that the task of climate adaptation challenges the existing structures in municipal administration. This has a lot to do with the fact that the cross-cutting issue of climate adaptation is the responsibility of several offices or departments. This means that successful climate adaptation requires cross-departmental cooperation within the municipalities and this must be well coordinated and desired.
How can municipalities be best supported?
As far as financial resources are concerned, the federal and state governments are of course also involved, as they already offer many funding programs. However, it must also be recognized that many funds are not used because the municipalities do not have qualified staff to submit applications. This must be addressed. The approach of specifically promoting the recruitment of municipal climate adaptation managers is certainly the right one. Such specialists are already working in around twelve percent of municipalities.
Can research also provide support?
Absolutely. As researchers, we have to think about how we can prepare our knowledge about the necessity, urgency and feasibility of climate adaptation measures in such a way that municipalities can take it up and work with it well. Someone who is under pressure to coordinate measures simply doesn’t have time to read studies. It is therefore also the task of research to develop formats for knowledge transfer that are adapted to the knowledge needs and everyday work in municipalities.
Source: ISOE – Institute for Social-Ecological Research; Municipal Survey on Climate Adaptation 2023 (PDF)