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The impacts of climate change can already be felt in Germany. Extreme weather events such as heat waves and heavy rainfall are becoming more frequent and more severe. By taking these changes into account at an early stage in our activities and plans, we can succeed in dealing with the consequences of climate change and make the necessary adaptations.
We, the Interministerial Working Group “Adaptation Strategy”, have been working together since 2009 to actively push ahead with climate change adaptation measures. Now it is time for implementation; all the key players in society—from the federal government and federal state administrations and municipal authorities to members of civil society—need to have an understanding of the risks and opportunities of climate change for their sector and to get prepared.
At the same time, we are setting up the appropriate political framework to take precautionary measures against the effects of climate change by considering the climate-related risks and adaptation measures in all sectors. For example, climate change adaptation is a guiding principle for planning in the German building code and must be taken into account in all urban redevelopment projects. Furthermore, the Federal Ministry for the Environment provides fundings to key players who want to prepare their municipality, their company or their organisation for the impacts of climate change such as periods of extreme heat, flooding or torrential rain.
The motto of the KLiVO portal is therefore "Our assignment: to provide information on precautionary measures against the effects of climate change". We would like to take you with us on this journey and look forward to your interest and your involvement!
The Interministerial Working Group “Adaptation Strategy”
German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (DAS)
In 2008, the federal government adopted the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (DAS). DAS aims to identify and reduce Germany's vulnerabilities in regard to the consequences of climate change, as well as maintaining or strengthening our capacity for adaptation in the country's natural, social and economic systems. The Action Plans for Adaptation underpin the goals formulated in the DAS through various specific activities.
The strategy for adaptation is diverse and addresses 16 sectors:
| Infrastructures | Construction Industry, Energy Sector, Traffic and Transport Infrastructure |
| Land | Soils, Biological Diversity, Agriculture and Forestry Sector |
| Site and Layout Planning and Civil Protection | Spatial, Regional and Urban Development Planning, Civil Protection and Disaster Control |
| Water | Water Balance, Water Management, Coastal and Marine Protection, Fishing Industry |
| Health | Human Health |
| Economy | Industry and Commerce, Tourism, Finance and Insurance Sector |
Since the Strategy for Adaption to Climate Change was adopted in 2008, a lot of things have happened - data has been collected, research has been done into the consequences of climate change, new instruments have been developed and various measures have been implemented. In the future too, we will present the consequences of climate change and adaption measures undertaken on an ongoing basis in the form of a monitoring report and will regularly reassess the future vulnerability of Germany, evaluate the adaption process on a continuous basis and press ahead with progress reports and action plans.
The federal government is now bundling together all acitivities concerned with the implementation of the DAS along with the steadily growing body of knowledge on the consequences of climate change and adaption measures in the Climate Preparedness Portal.
For Germany's adaptation to the impacts of climate change, as well as to extreme weather events, reliable data and decision-making bases based on current scientific findings (IPCC Assessment Reports, research programs) are required on an ongoing basis. For climatological, oceanographic and hydrological parameters and services, this task is performed by the DAS core service "Climate and Water". This service has been established as a permanent task at the federal higher authorities of the BMVI - Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), German Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) and the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (BAW) - and is now being built up gradually. It will provide an up-to-date and cross-field database for the past (observations) and the future (projections) that will support planning processes to mitigate the effects of climate change, as well as extreme weather events. Research services that were previously one-time studies and exemplary can be consolidated, automated, and transformed into a sustainably available and up-to-date service offered through the DAS core service. This is carried out in close contact with the customers of the service.