German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change

Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe. Heavy rainfall, floods, storms, droughts and heatwaves are no longer once-in-a-lifetime events. They are part of a new reality, and we will have to adapt.

Extreme weather events often cause extensive damage. People lose all their possessions and, in extreme cases, their lives. Elderly people and children in particular are vulnerable to heatwaves. Droughts lead to forest fires and crop failure. Heavy rainfall and high water levels flood streets, basements and houses. However, the damage caused not only depends on the severity of these events. It also depends on how well prepared we are.

The German government wants to improve protection of the public against the consequences of climate change. The goal is for everyone to be able to live well, in good health and safely anywhere in Germany. That is why we are committed to climate action. Many consequences of climate change are no longer reversible. We have to better prepare ourselves, adapt and take precautionary measures. With the 2024 German Adaptation Strategy the German government is systematically addressing this task.

Practical adaptation to climate change is, for example, when…

• municipalities plant trees, set up shade sails and provide water fountains and allow access to cool public buildings to protect the public against heat.
• companies reorganise their supply chains so they are stable and will not be disrupted by extreme weather events.
• measures such as more precise forecasts and adapted transport concepts ensure that rivers like the Rhine can still be navigated during low water phases. This guarantees the supply of industry and the public with much needed goods.
• areas of coniferous monocultures are restored to semi-natural mixed woodlands, which store more water, are more resilient to heat, provide recreational spaces and cool the surroundings.
• alluvial meadows are restored so they can retain water during the next flood and keep it from entering settlements.

By adopting these and many more measures, climate adaptation creates the prerequisites for healthy and safe living conditions and business practices. It is also a large-scale programme for greater quality of life and prosperity.

Adaptation and precautionary measures touch upon many areas of society. This is why climate change adaptation is not only a task for the entire German government, but for the federal states, municipalities and businesses as well. The German government provides a framework to advance adaptation in all areas of life.

The Federal Climate Adaptation Act, drawn up under the lead responsibility of the Federal Environment Ministry, entered into force in July. With this act, the German government established a new, binding foundation for adaptation. The Federation, federal states and municipalities are obligated to draw up strategies and plans for adaptation to advancing global heating, based on risk analyses and underpinned with concrete plans of measures.

The Federal Environment Ministry has launched two support programmes to aid federal states and municipalities in their adaptation efforts. These programmes aim in particular to fund adaptation managers (DAS) and promote adaptation in the social services sector (AnPaSo). Another measure is the Centre for Climate Change Adaptation, which is the first point of contact for municipalities and social institutions. The Centre offers tailored advice, training and networking in all questions related to adaptation.

In a next step, German government will present its climate adaptation strategy. This strategy sets the course for making our society and economy, nature and infrastructure resilient to the consequences of climate change.

The 2024 German Adaptation Strategy is the first strategy to establish measurable targets for climate adaptation in Germany. It contains 34 targets and 53 sub-targets. Most of the targets are to be met in 2030, some in 2050. Target-specific indicators will be used to measure success. It is important that the public and businesses are not burdened with additional bureaucracy or reporting obligations.

The targets are structured in seven clusters that represent the entire range of adaptation and precautionary action:

• Infrastructure
• Land and land use
• Human health and care services
• Urban development, spatial planning and civil protection
• Water
• Businesses
• cross-cluster topics

Targets under the clusters "water" and “land and land use” that fall within the responsibility of the Federal Environment Ministry include

• improving soil resilience to the consequences of climate change
• strengthening resilience of water infrastructure
• preserving sufficient, good quality water resources

One example for the new scheme of measurable targets and corresponding indicators of the Adaptation Strategy is that the strategy sets the target of strengthening resilience of the landscape hydrology. This means, first and foremost, to restore nature’s capacity to retain water. This requires as many unsealed areas of land as possible, which can absorb water, and healthy, loose soils, which can store water for longer periods of time. This is a sub-target of the target to maintain available water resources in the long term.

Indicators will help make progress on this target measurable and transparent. One of these indicators is the recovery of natural flooding areas. Recovering natural flooding areas means that bodies of water will have more room and watercourses will be reconnected to alluvial plains. Two other indicators to make progress measurable are currently being drawn up on rewetted bogs and drained farmland and forests.

These indicators will help monitor whether and how fast progress is made.

The German Adaptation Strategy is a joint project of all federal ministries, headed by the Environment Ministry. Federal states, associations including municipal umbrella organisations, the scientific community and the public are closely involved in the process. The strategy is based on the idea that every ministry is responsible for measures in its own remit.

Every ministry has contributed to the targets in line with its responsibilities and is responsible for implementing and funding measures and measuring their impact in future.

After federal states and associations have contributed, the results will be submitted to the ministries for review and incorporation in the finalisation of the strategy. The new, precautionary climate adaptation strategy of the German government is set to be adopted by the cabinet in December 2024.

The next step will be to achieve the strategy’s targets so they can take effect and protect people and infrastructure. The 4th Adaptation Action Plan (APA IV), which is also part of the strategy, comprises more than 180 measures. A monitoring system uses indicators to measure progress. This is the basis for updating the strategy every four years. Targets and measures will be reviewed and, where necessary, updated.

This is the start of a federal climate adaptation management that is strategic, dynamic and geared towards achieving goals and making progress.

In 2008, the German government adopted the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (Deutsche Anpassungsstrategie - DAS) under the lead responsibility of the Federal Environment Ministry with assistance from the German Environment Agency. This strategy laid the foundation for Germany to prepare for the impacts of climate change and reduce climate risks in a continuous process.

Climate risk analyses and adaptation action plans are important elements of the adaptation process. As part of the German Adaptation Strategy, the impacts of climate change and adaptation measures undertaken in Germany are regularly monitored. The DAS provides the basis for climate adaptation policy in Germany.