ISOE is carrying out the ‘2027 Local Authority Survey on Climate Adaptation’ in collaboration with partners. A nationwide, representative survey will once again assess the current state of local authority adaptation practices: How successful is the implementation of measures? What are the needs of local authorities, and what obstacles do they face? On behalf of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the project team is also examining whether the local authority survey can be established as a permanent monitoring tool for the German Adaptation Strategy (DAS). To this end, the research team is further developing the 2023 survey on climate change adaptation in local authorities, in which responses from over a thousand cities, municipalities and counties were analysed on a representative basis for the first time.
The persistent heatwave in the summer of 2026 has once again impressively demonstrated just how urgent adaptation measures are. But there is much more at stake: according to the current Climate Adaptation Act, the federal government, the federal states and local authorities must take climate risks fully into account. This is because not only heatwaves and droughts, but also heavy rainfall and flooding are occurring more frequently and with greater intensity.
Cities, municipalities and counties must therefore further expand their adaptation measures in order to effectively protect the population and reliably guarantee key public services – such as drinking water supply, health protection and preventive flood protection – even under changing climatic conditions.
Many local authorities have already implemented initial strategies and measures. These include heatwave action plans, the greening of streets and squares, drinking water wells, soil de-sealing, rainwater management and precautions against heavy rainfall and flooding. But what is the overall picture of the national status of climate adaptation?
As early as 2023, a research team led by ISOE, on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency, conducted a nationwide representative survey of German local authorities, delivering key findings on climate adaptation in Germany. The ‘2027 Survey on Climate Change Adaptation in Local Authorities’ builds on these findings.
The survey will be carried out in the first half of next year. The aim is to create a new, scientifically robust data basis on the state of municipal climate adaptation, in order to ensure that the needs of local authorities are systematically incorporated into the update of the German Adaptation Strategy (DAS). In addition to updating the strategy and adapting it to current conditions, the focus is on developing core indicators to ensure comparability over time and greater regional relevance. At the same time, the project team is examining whether and how the survey can be established as a permanent monitoring tool for the German Adaptation Strategy (DAS).
The survey forms part of a transdisciplinary accompanying project designed to support the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUKN) and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) in the further development of the DAS. The project ‘Accompanying Research on the Further Development of the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change’ is being carried out on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). The project is managed by the Institute for Ecological Economic Research (IÖW) in Berlin. Other partners in the consortium are the Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE) and Bosch & Partner (Munich). The project will run from April 2026 to June 2029.
The Municipal Survey on Climate Adaptation 2027 builds on the monitoring of the German Adaptation Strategy (DAS) and explores the possibility of establishing it as a permanent tool.
How can municipalities better prepare for heat, heavy rain and drought? What support do they need for climate adaptation?
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