Jochen Flasbarth (SPD), State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, has advocated for a constitutional amendment aimed at strengthening Germany’s capacity for climate adaptation in light of the increasing incidence of climate-related disasters, including heatwaves, droughts, heavy precipitation, and flooding, observed since 2018.

Flasbarth emphasized that municipalities face considerable challenges in implementing effective climate risk mitigation strategies and are therefore dependent on financial support from both federal and Länder authorities. As a long-term measure to facilitate coordinated and enduring action across all levels of government, the Federal and Länder Environment Ministers’ Conference is pursuing the formal recognition of ‘climate adaptation’ as a joint federal responsibility within the framework of the German Basic Law.