How can municipalities better prepare for future extreme weather events? What support is needed to enhance their capacity for climate adaptation?
The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly evident, with far-reaching environmental, health, and economic consequences. This underscores the urgent need to mitigate these impacts and prepare for the challenges posed by climate change. Municipalities, cities, and districts face particular pressures.
Alongside heat and health prevention, improved preparedness for extreme weather events is growing in importance. Urban planning, green spaces, and building design must also adapt to meet these new challenges. Additionally, local adaptation efforts must address slow-onset changes, such as declining groundwater levels, forest and soil degradation, and the spread of invasive species.
“The biggest challenges in planning and implementing climate adaptation measures are, by far, the lack of human and financial resources, as well as the limitations of municipal administrative structures.”
Dr. Thomas Friedrich, Research Scientist
Our research generates knowledge to advance climate adaptation. Working closely with municipal stakeholders, we develop strategies and measures to enhance adaptive capacity at the local level.
We analyze the challenges, barriers, and conflicts that hinder the rapid implementation of climate adaptation policies and actions. Our focus includes water resource management, infrastructure protection and rehabilitation, biodiversity conservation, and the consideration of vulnerable groups. Through participatory approaches, our research contributes to the design of holistic and inclusive solutions.
As part of the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) provides financial and strategic support for the development of municipal climate adaptation concepts. We contribute our comprehensive expertise in this area: On behalf of municipalities, we develop sound climate adaptation concepts based on scientific analyses and our extensive consulting experience.
We systematically incorporate our research in the areas of climate adaptation, blue-green infrastructure, water demand forecasting, biodiversity promotion, urban nature development, and communication, participation and transfer strategies into the concepts. We work in an interdisciplinary and practical manner, collaborating with local decision-makers and other partners on the ground. Our goal is to develop implementation-oriented strategies that will make cities and municipalities sustainable and resilient in the face of climate change.
KomKlAn creates an improved knowledge base for municipal climate adaptation and aims to strengthen the municipalities' adaptation activities.
