The idea of the Berliner
Climate Adaptation Act
The idea behind the Berlin Climate Adaptation Bill
The climate is changing. We can feel the effects in our city more and more. In addition to steady and impactful climate change mitigation, we also need measures to adapt our living environment to the new conditions to keep Berlin bearable. We have put everything that is needed into a new bill: the Berlin Climate Adaptation Bill (KAnGBln). As a so-called policy planning and transformation law, it ensures that Berlin will be heat proof and climate resilient by 2040.
The Climate Adaptation Bill stipulates, for example, that many trees along Berlin’s roadsides shall be planted and cared for, cooling green spaces shall be created, rainwater shall be used sensibly and hot districts shall be cooled down.
The law also stipulates that all Berliners shall benefit from these measures. For example, areas with higher population density are given special consideration. This is because people in such areas often have little money for expensive air conditioning or large private gardens – they need particularly good protection from the heat.
A Risk Weather Council shall accompany and monitor the progress of the act’s implementation.
Ultimately, the people of Berlin will vote on the bill in a referendum. If the majority votes in favour – and the voter turnout is such that at least a quarter of all eligible voters vote in favour – the bill will be enacted immediately.
The history of its creation
The Berlin Climate Adaptation Act was developed in a broad-based process involving numerous voluntary experts from science, politics, administration, business, committed citizens and lawyers.
March 4, 2024: First presentation of the law
On March 4, 2024, we presented the 27-page draft of the law to a wider public for the first time . Following a public call, we received over 200 responses from the city's community, which we discussed intensively and integrated into the draft.
May 27, 2024:
On May 27, 2024, we presented the law in a press conference and submitted it to the Senate for cost estimation ( download the first version here ).
September 2, 2024:
On this day, the Senate received the final version of the Berlin Climate Adaptation Act
After a further revision of critical points, the final version of the law was submitted to the Senate again on September 2, 2024. With the revision and publication of the cost estimate by the Senate, the first signature collection can begin.
The law and its justification
The law comprises 17 pages, 24 paragraphs in 8 sections and includes 4 amendments to existing Berlin state laws and regulations. It is the first concrete climate adaptation law in Germany for the implementation of targeted climate adaptation measures at the municipal level.
The law is supplemented by the official “justification”, which serves as a kind of explanatory leaflet. It provides detailed explanations and clarifies what really lies behind the individual provisions of the law.
The reasoning is carefully studied by judges and lawyers when interpreting the law. It provides detailed explanations of the goals and requirements of the law and gives advice on practical implementation. The document also offers anyone interested an informative and exciting introduction to the topic and refers to many additional sources.
In addition to the law and the official justification, we have examined numerous studies to deepen our knowledge and incorporated relevant content. The result is a valuable resource for anyone who would like to find out more about climate adaptation tasks and their interrelationships.
The cost estimate
As part of the referendum, the Senate is preparing an official cost estimate for the implementation of the project. We have also carried out our own calculations in order to include further savings opportunities and damage avoided in the future in the bill for taxpayers. All information about this can be found here .
measures reader
In addition, we have created an easy-to-understand document, our measures reader, which explains the 20 most important measures for climate adaptation. This document describes the aim, purpose and idea of each measure. It also explains where to find more detailed information in the law and the justification. Anyone who reads the document will understand what climate adaptation means and why this law is important for Berlin.