In general, how would you assess the progress of climate adaptation in Germany over the past three years?
Fischer-Hotzel: During the past three years, Germany has made a lot of progress in terms of climate adaptation. The federal government set up the Zentrum KlimaAnpassung, a nationwide advisory centre for local authorities and social institutions that provides advice, training and networking on the topic of climate adaptation, with a wide range of services and products.
The Climate Adaptation Act sets out a framework for the federal states and local authorities over the coming years. At the same time, the federal states have demonstrated their own initiative: North Rhine-Westphalia already presented its own Climate Adaptation Act in 2021 and Brandenburg implemented its own plan for dealing with extreme heat, with Hesse and other federal states following suit.
Local authorities are also becoming increasingly active, with many municipalities showing an awareness of the risks of flooding, drought and heatwaves. Some have already implemented plans for addressing extreme heat. As a result, a broad awareness of the consequences of climate change and the need for action has been established.
A lot of work is still needed, both to adapt Germany to a changing climate and also to reach 2030 climate and energy targets. What challenges are particularly pressing for the new government to tackle? What about longer-term goals?