SPD ministers propose constitutional change to unlock federal funding for climate adaptation
SPD ministers want a constitutional change so Berlin can co-finance local adaptation measures amid rising heatwaves and drought.
Germany's Social Democratic ministers have proposed changing the constitution to allow the federal government to help pay for adaptation measures to climate change as the country faces more frequent heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and water shortages.
The suggestion appears in a four-page action plan drawn up by ministers from the SPD, the smaller coalition partner in Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government. The paper outlines a national heatwave response plan, changes to urban-planning and construction laws, and stronger protections for workers exposed to extreme temperatures.
Ministers argue a constitutional amendment is needed so the federal government can contribute funding to measures that are currently mainly the responsibility of the federal states (Länder) and municipalities. "The change is a 'prerequisite' for the federal government to participate in financing the tasks of municipalities or the federal states 'and in this way, in the long term, legally secure and comprehensively contribute to the measures for adapting to climate change and the preservation of nature'," the document states.
The paper was approved by SPD ministers with responsibility for finance, the environment, labour and social affairs, building, and development. It stresses that the impacts of climate change are already hitting people across the globe and increasingly affecting Germany.
"The consequences of climate change affect people around the world, and increasingly us in Germany," the ministers wrote, listing heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, low water levels, heavy rainfall, floods, water shortages and exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
So far, Chancellor Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc has been sceptical of the idea, with party representatives questioning the practical benefit of a constitutional change and warning it will be hard to secure the required two-thirds parliamentary majority. SPD sources said the proposals will be discussed within the coalition in the coming days.
Separately, the party paper underlines the economic stakes: heatwaves and droughts are estimated to cost the EU hundreds of billions of euros.
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