Zentrum KlimaAnpassung - The new federal information centre for climate adaptation

Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze inaugurated the new Zentrum KlimaAnpassung on 7 July 2021. The centre aims to provide needs-driven support to municipalities and social institutions throughout Germany in launching, initiating and implementing adaptation measures.

Municipalities and social institutions are particularly hard hit by local impacts of climate change. Damage to the environment, infrastructures and negative impacts on people's health are mainly borne by municipalities and social institutions. They are called upon to protect the population and vulnerable groups in particular, raise awareness and, most importantly, ensure that precautionary measures are in place. For this reason, it is precisely here that measures to cushion and mitigate the impacts of climate change need to be developed and implemented. Municipal and social institutions are therefore the most important actors in adaptation to climate change in Germany.

There is a broad spectrum of suitable precautionary and adaptive measures to address the impacts of climate change at local level. They range from basic measures that can be implemented quickly such as sun shades and drinking fountains during heat waves, and more comprehensive measures such as green roofs and façades, adaptation concepts and professional training to more complex and costly precautionary measures to protect against flooding, heavy rainfall and longer periods of heat or drought.

The Federal Environment Ministry established the Zentrum KlimaAnpassung in response to these challenges. Together with local government associations, the Federal Environment Ministry agreed to set up this pilot centre in a joint roadmap for adaptation measures in municipalities (3-Punkte-Plan für Klimaanpassung in Kommunen).

The Federal Environment Ministry commissioned the Deutsche Institut für Urbanistik (Difu) to manage the Zentrum KlimaAnpassung in cooperation with adelphi consult.

The Zentrum KlimaAnpassung is the first nationwide advisory and information centre of its kind. Its services aim to assist municipalities and social institutions in planning, implementing and identifying funding options for adaptation measures. It pools existing knowledge and tailors it to the needs of the responsible actors including climate adaptation managers, administrative staff and social institutions, thus supplementing advisory and information services in Germany.

The Zentrum KlimaAnpassung offers the following services:

• Advice on funding options and implementation
• Education and professional training on a range of issues related to climate change adaptation
• (Practical) knowledge transfer
• Nationwide networking among stakeholders to share knowledge and experiences.