Given the high number of heat-related fatalities this summer, the German Foundation for Patient Protection is calling for an amendment to the Basic Law. Eugen Brysch, a board member of the organization, told the “Rheinische Post” that “it is obvious that municipalities and federal states are not capable of ensuring sufficient heat protection in care facilities and hospitals.”
Brysch criticized the federal government for hiding behind the current constitution, which delegates responsibility for heat protection to the states and local authorities. He argued that the Basic Law should not be perpetually used as a loophole that allows the protection of the most vulnerable from heat stress to stall.
Consequently, Brysch demanded that the federal government and the Bundestag must now introduce an amendment to the Basic Law. This change would allow funds from the special assets for infrastructure and climate neutrality to be released for comprehensive financing of solar-powered air conditioning systems dedicated to heat protection.
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nearly 12,000 people in Germany have already died this summer as a result of heat.
