Adaptation at the Federal Level

In order to mitigate the existing climate impacts and take precautionary measures to reduce future climate risks, the Federal Government, under the leadership of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), adopted the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change 2024 (DAS 2024) at the end of 2024. With the new climate adaptation strategy, the Federal Government is fulfilling a key obligation under the Federal Climate Adaptation Act. For the first time, the strategy contains measurable targets for adaptation to the impacts of climate change. The climate adaptation targets are intended to reduce the key climate risks for Germany according to the Climate Impact and Risk Analysis 2021 (KWRA).

The targets are divided into seven thematic clusters:

• Infrastructure: Transport/transport infrastructure and buildings
• Land and land use: Biodiversity, soil, agriculture, forestry and forest management
• Human health and care
• Urban development, spatial planning and civil protection
• Water
• Economy
• Cross-cluster fields of action

You can find more about the climate impacts and adaptation options in the individual fields of action under “Climate Impacts Germany” and “Regional und sectoral Adaptation”.

The DAS monitoring system for the climate adaptation strategy will use indicators to measure progress in achieving the targets. Indicators that have already been developed or are currently being developed have been identified for most of the targets. For some targets, the federal ministries will have to develop new indicators and data bases in the coming years. The indicators are an important basis for setting ambitious targets. In future, the data and indicators of the monitoring system will be updated automatically as far as possible and collated in a database application operated by the UBA. The next DAS monitoring report, which is due to be published in 2027, will form the scientific basis for assessing the progress made in achieving the targets as part of the 2028 strategy update.

In order to achieve the goals of the DAS, concrete measures and policy instruments are required from the federal government. The Adaptation Action Plan IV (APA IV) defines the measures with which the Federal Government is driving forward Germany's adaptation to climate change and how it is supporting responsible stakeholders in the implementation of measures. It presents the federal government's current and future measures for adapting to the climate impacts.

As the knowledge base on climate change and its impacts is constantly expanding, the DAS is being continuously developed. A reporting system is used, on the basis of which regular updates of the DAS are published. The following principles are incorporated into the updates:

1. The Monitoring Report provides an overview of the observed impacts of climate change and adaptation measures that have already been initiated in Germany. It is updated every four years.
2. The Climate Impact and Risk Assessment identifies the climate impacts and regions that are particularly affected and where action is required. Climate impacts in the fields of action of the DAS as well as across fields of action are analysed. Updates are carried out every eight years.
3. The Adaptation Action Plans (APAs) present the federal government's current and future measures for adapting to climate change. The APA is regularly updated and published together with the strategy.
4. The evaluation of the DAS analyses the strategy process and the impact of the DAS.
5. Relevant stakeholders in Germany are involved in the process via various participation formats. In order to incorporate diverse perspectives, ideas and wishes into the new adaptation strategy, the BMUV and the UBA involved experts from the federal states, municipalities, associations, the scientific community and citizens in the broad-based participation process ‘Dialogue Climate Adaptation’.

The support and coordination of the work related to the DAS takes place within the Federal Government under the leadership of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) via the Interministerial Working Group on Adaptation to Climate Change (IMAA). All federal ministries work together in the IMAA, regularly coordinate their activities and continuously set new goals in order to create the conditions for climate adaptation in Germany.

The network of authorities on climate change and adaptation supports the IMAA under the direction of the Federal Environment Agency in the implementation and further development of the DAS. As a network of federal authorities and institutions, the focus is particularly on the technical development and coordination of scientific content on the DAS. At the UBA, the Competence Center for Climate Impacts and Adaptation (KomPass) coordinates the work on the DAS.

The Standing Committee on Adaptation to the Consequences of Climate Change (StA AFK) serves to promote cooperation between the federal government and the federal states. The specific strategies and measures of the state administrations are taken into account in the work on the DAS via the StA AFK. It is part of the federal-state working group on climate, energy, mobility and sustainability at the Conference of Environment Ministers.

In September 2018 the German federal government launched the German climate preparedness portal. Here, municipalities, businesses and society can get support in the form of information and tools for their handling of the consequences of climate change. The German environment agency supports the portal with a network where stakeholders can exchange information on adaption to climate change, counsel each other or learn from each other.