(de-news.net) – The Environment Minister is pushing for stronger federal-state cooperation on climate adaptation, including possible constitutional reform, faster peatland rewetting and expanded natural infrastructure. The proposals come amid severe storms and flooding in Baden-Württemberg, highlighting Germany’s growing need to strengthen climate resilience.
Despite opposition from the coalition’s Union parties, Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) is sticking to his plan to make climate adaptation a shared constitutional responsibility of the federal, state and local governments. Schneider said the initiative remains underway and stressed that any decision to amend Germany’s Basic Law would have to follow careful legal preparation. The objective, he said, is to create a strong legal foundation for closer and more effective cooperation among the country’s different levels of government.
The Conference of Environment Ministers has unanimously approved a resolution supporting the coalition agreement, which calls for examining the creation of a joint federal-state responsibility for climate adaptation. Schneider said such an arrangement could make federal climate funding more efficient by improving coordination among governments. Drawing on his experience in the Bundestag, he argued that political positions that may initially appear firmly established can still change. He said he intends to continue pressing for the proposal despite the current resistance from the Union parties.
Schneider also plans to move quickly on legislation concerning natural infrastructure and to accelerate efforts to rewet Germany’s peatlands. He pointed to drained peatlands in the High Fens, where fires have occurred beneath the surface, as evidence of the risks created when peat dries out. The issue, he said, is vital to Germany’s long-term security and survival, even if peatlands and their restoration may seem romantic to some. Once peat has dried, smoldering fires can develop underground, sometimes continuing for months and proving extremely difficult to extinguish.
1.7 billion euros for peatland restoration as storms hit Germany
The rewetting program will be carried out in cooperation with farmers and is expected to receive 1.7 billion euros over the next several years. To speed implementation, Schneider also wants natural infrastructure projects to be designated as matters of overriding public interest. He argued that recent episodes of extreme summer weather have underscored the need for more ambitious measures to strengthen climate resilience and that the legislation should therefore move forward as quickly as possible.
A central objective is to create larger, connected habitats modeled in part on the Green Belt. Schneider said climate adaptation and nature protection cannot be reduced to simply planting a handful of trees alongside major construction projects. Instead, ecosystems should be treated as strategic partners, particularly because their natural capacity to retain and store water can provide an important form of protection. In that sense, he said, natural systems are at least as significant as technological infrastructure. Schneider said he expects this broader understanding of nature’s role to become more firmly established.
About 90 percent of Germany’s peatlands have been drained. The extraction and use of peat, together with the decomposition of drained peat soils, account for roughly 7.5 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. By contrast, intact, waterlogged peatlands are considered among the most effective carbon stores found in terrestrial ecosystems. The contrast highlights the climate significance of restoring landscapes that have been heavily altered by drainage and land use.
Meanwhile, severe storms brought emergency responses and widespread damage across Baden-Württemberg. In the Singen district of Konstanz, strong winds tore roofs from about 100 buildings, according to firefighters. Authorities cordoned off affected areas as numerous fallen trees blocked roads and disrupted access. No injuries had been reported at the time.
Storm damage and flooding were also reported in other parts of the state. Hail shattered windows in Bad Urach, while police and firefighters responded to flooded basements and streets in Ludwigsburg and Reutlingen counties. The German Weather Service had placed all administrative regions of Baden-Württemberg under severe-thunderstorm warnings through noon, underscoring the immediate weather risks alongside the longer-term climate adaptation challenges Schneider has sought to address.
