German Climate Adaptation Strategy 2024

2024 German Climate Adaptation Strategy
Summary
The impacts of climate change in Germany are tangible and quantifiable. In Germany and
around the world, 2023 was the hottest year on record since measurements began in 1881;
the average temperature in Germany has already risen by 1.8°C (linear trend) since then.
The years 2014 to 2023 were already 2.3°C warmer than in 1881. At the same time,
Germany has experienced devastating effects from heavy rainfall and flooding in recent
years, particularly in 2021 and most recently in 2024. In future, all regions of Germany will be
affected by a further rise in temperatures, an increase in the numbers of hot and dry days
and a greater risk of heavy rainfall and flooding. Depending on the rate of global warming,
the cumulative economic damage is expected to reach 280 to 900 billion euros by mid-
century.
That is why the German government has made adaptation to the impacts of climate change
a top priority in the 20th legislative period, alongside ambitious climate action. To tackle this
challenge, it has created a new, binding framework for this with the Federal Climate
Adaptation Act (Klimaanpassungsgesetz, KAnG). The Act requires the federal, federal state
and municipal governments to address the impacts of climate change across the board and
identify adaptation measures. This new precautionary climate adaptation strategy outlined
here is the first strategy with measurable targets for adaptation to the impacts of climate
change within the scope of responsibilities and competences of the German government, as
required by section 3 of the Federal Climate Adaptation Act. As stipulated in section 1 of the
Act, the strategy contributes to preserving equivalent living conditions by increasing the
resilience and robustness of ecological systems, the economy and society to better withstand
the effects of climate change both now and in future.
Section 1 of the strategy highlights the strategy’s context and development process and the
governance of climate adaptation in Germany. It also puts the German Strategy for
Adaptation to Climate Change (DAS) in the context of national, European and international
strategies and goals. Section 2 presents the results of the 2023 monitoring report for the
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strategy and the 2021 climate impact and risk analysis for Germany (KWRA 2021). The
measurable targets for climate adaptation, along with the associated indicators and
measures that contribute to achieving them, are summarised in section 3 in different cluster
categories. In addition to the specific cluster-related targets, the German government
addresses other issues relevant to comprehensive precautionary climate adaptation in action
areas, which are also outlined in section 3. Section 4 highlights the main mechanisms for
guiding and implementing the strategy. Detailed background documents from the ministries
for each cluster can be found in Annex 1 (cluster documents) and form the basis for the
summary in section 3. Annex 2 contains the fourth Adaptation Action Plan (APA IV), which
provides an overview of the German government’s climate adaptation measures. In addition
to the measures to achieve the targets set out in the clusters, the APA IV also includes
further climate adaptation measures from the federal ministries.
The targets, including the associated indicators, instruments and measures, are divided into
various action areas, which are grouped into the following seven clusters: infrastructure;
land and land use; human health and care provision; urban development, spatial
planning and civil protection; water; economy; and a cluster of cross-sectoral issues. The
targets address priority areas of climate adaptation that fall within the remit of the federal
government. They focus primarily on the climate impacts identified in the KWRA 2021 that
require particularly urgent action. These include climate risks from high temperatures and the
change in natural systems and resources, particularly for human health, climate risks from