In light of this year’s severe summer heat, environmental and climate protection organizations are demanding that the federal government develop a comprehensive climate action plan. This demand aligns with the SPD’s call for state financing to support adaptation measures against climate change impacts.
Barbara Metz, the Federal Managing Director of the German Environmental Aid (DUH), told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” that “this extreme summer demonstrates that Germany is not prepared for the heat that the escalating climate crisis increasingly affects us with.” Metz noted that over 10,000 people have already died this year due to extreme heat. She criticized the ongoing process of sealing off land and cutting down old trees, stating that these actions lack any connection to climate defense.
Looking at the steps announced by Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) and the Action Plan put forth by the SPD Federal Minister, Metz is holding CDU/CSU ministers accountable as well. She urged that “Environment Minister Schneider has announced more heat protection-this must now become concrete and cannot remain just another political promise.” She emphasized that Housing Minister Hubertz and Health Minister Linnemann also bear responsibility and must act instead of passively watching cities become more paved over while people die from extreme heat.
Greenpeace also criticized the lack of notification from the Federal Chancellery by the weekend regarding whether the cabinet would seriously address heat, drought, water scarcity, and climate protection in its planned meeting. Martin Kaiser, spokesman for Greenpeace, told the RND that with over 12,000 deaths and an ailing economy impacting its workers, the climate crisis must be central to cabinet discussions, not relegated to miscellaneous matters. He supported Environment Minister Schneider’s call to enshrine nature conservation and climate adaptation as a shared obligation of the federal and state governments in the Basic Law. Kaiser stressed that cities and municipalities require sustainable, increased funding for heat protection, de-sealing, rewetting, and expanding green spaces. He called on the Union party to “look beyond their own interests” and organize a majority across all democratic parties in the Bundestag for a Basic Law amendment.
Similarly, the Federation for Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) urged the federal government to provide concrete answers on how it plans to protect citizens and the economy in the future. Tina Löffelsend, BUND’s climate chief, told the RND, “The cabinet must agree on an effective preventative package that bundles significantly more climate protection, adaptation, and investments in intact nature.” She specified that this requires allocating more funds in the next federal budget and providing greater support to local municipalities, where most of the implementation must occur. She concluded that establishing a new joint responsibility for climate protection and adaptation would make this possible, ensuring clear distribution of duties and allowing for targeted support, especially for less financially secure communities.
