The Federal Climate Adaptation Act

Extreme weather events have caused enormous damage in Germany and Europe, and they will become more frequent in future. This will make it necessary for the whole of society to take precautions and adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis. The new Federal Climate Adaptation Act (Klimaanpassungsgesetz, KAnG) defines the strategic framework for future climate adaptation at federal level and in the federal states and municipalities. It is the first national climate adaptation law. The new law was announced in the Federal Law Gazette on 22 December 2023 and entered into force on 1 July 2024.

Heat waves, droughts, floods and forest fires – not a single day passes without news reports of events caused or intensified by the climate crisis. The Ahr Valley floods in 2021 were a watershed moment in Germany. They claimed countless lives and caused billions of euros in property damage. Since then, it has become apparent that the climate crisis is no longer just a problem affecting countries in the Global South, it is also impacting us here in Germany.

Precautionary risk management and adaptation to the impacts of the climate crisis are two of the current administration’s priorities along with the pursuit of rigorous climate action. The coalition agreement provides for a three-part approach:

• The Federal Climate Adaptation Act is a binding framework for the federal government, the federal states and the municipalities.
• With a new, precautionary climate adaptation strategy with measurable targets, the German government is holding itself accountable.
• Joint, nationwide funding by the federal government and the federal states is intended to provide long-term support in future.

The aim of the German government is to provide a binding framework for climate adaptation at federal, federal-state and municipal level.

• This framework commits the German government to presenting a precautionary climate adaptation strategy with measurable targets, updating it at regular intervals and implementing it on an ongoing basis. Regular monitoring ensures that these targets are being met.
• The federal states are tasked with presenting and implementing their own climate adaptation strategies.
• The federal states must ensure that local climate adaptation plans are drawn up on the basis of risk analyses. They report to the federal government on the extent to which climate adaptation plans exist in the municipalities and districts. To allow effective and balanced precautionary measures to be defined when drawing up climate adaptation plans, the federal states have considerable flexibility.
• The requirement to take climate adaptation into account ensures that public authorities ensures that public authorities integrate this goal across all areas of planning and decision-making.
• The German government is expected to regularly collect data on the total financial losses caused by extreme weather events and on federal expenditures for climate adaptation.

The federal government supports the federal states and municipalities in meeting their responsibility for climate adaptation, particularly in the areas of advisory services and financing.

In July 2021, the Federal Environment Ministry tasked the Centre for Climate Adaptation (Zentrum KlimaAnpassung, ZKA) with advising municipalities and other local stakeholders on climate adaptation issues and helping them to network.

The Immediate Action Programme for Climate Adaptation from March 2022 already supports sustainable and integrated climate adaptation processes at local level, for example by promoting climate adaptation managers. Support for climate adaptation in social institutions will be further developed and formalised.