In light of the unprecedented heatwaves this summer, the Klima-Allianz Deutschland, the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ARB), and the Paritätischer Gesamtverband have urged the federal government to take immediate action on climate and heat protection.
Stefanie Langkamp, Political Director of Klima-Allianz Deutschland-a coalition of 150 environmental and social organizations, churches, and unions-stated that the federal government must act quickly and implement concrete measures through a heat summit. She stressed that local communities require reliable frameworks to effectively deploy heat protection measures on the ground. Langkamp called for a unified task force for climate protection and climate adaptation, ensuring that municipalities have the necessary funding to act consistently. Furthermore, she emphasized the need to significantly accelerate the domestic energy transition to make Germany permanently independent of expensive oil and gas imports. According to Langkamp, every heatwave clearly demonstrates how the climate crisis directly impacts daily life, health, and economic prosperity, noting that the last heatwave alone caused billions of euros in damages to companies.
Uwe Martin Fichtmüller, CEO of the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund, called on the government to treat extreme heat as an acute threat to public health. He pointed out that during hot weather, rescue services and emergency rooms are consistently running at full capacity. To maintain stable medical care, he demanded that the federal and state governments formally include heat protection in disaster response and emergency plans, ensuring that frontline staff are properly supported while simultaneously adopting more decisive climate protection policies.
Katja Kipping, the director of the Paritätischer Gesamtverband, called for targeted support for social institutions so they can manage the consequences of extreme heat. Kipping highlighted that nursing homes, kindergartens, and counseling centers are increasingly pushed past their operational limits. She observed that many locations lack the necessary staffing, buildings, shading, and cooling infrastructure required to effectively protect highly vulnerable individuals.
Kipping further explained that organizational and low-investment heat protection measures are no longer sufficient during prolonged extreme heatwaves. Since institutions cannot finance the necessary structural improvements independently, she insisted that the federal government must adjust its course. Instead of drawing funds from the Climate and Transformation Fund for other purposes, it must reliably finance socially equitable climate protection and adaptation. She cautioned that saving money now will only exacerbate the burdens placed on the very people and institutions already suffering severely from the climate crisis.
