To mitigate the consequences of climate change, the German government is investing in measures to adapt to climate change. The amount of this expenditure was previously unknown. INFRAS has analysed the budget on behalf of the German Environment Agency and helped to develop a methodology for estimating expenditure on climate adaptation.
The devastating floods in the Ahr valley in summer 2021, persistent drought and extensive forest fires in Brandenburg in summer 2022, record storm surges on the Baltic Sea coast in autumn 2023: Climate change has left its mark on Germany in recent years. To reduce climate-related damage to society, the economy and the environment in the future or avoid it as far as possible, the German government is funding measures to adapt to climate change at various levels. For example, infrastructure projects such as dyke construction for coastal protection, research programmes of the German Weather Service or innovation funding for drought-resilient agriculture.
Expenditure on climate adaptation not yet known
The amount of expenditure earmarked for such climate adaptation activities in the federal budget has not yet been recorded. It is often not clear at first glance to what extent a particular budget item serves climate adaptation. Many measures are not listed in the adaptation strategy and are not explicitly aimed at climate adaptation but contribute to it.
The German Federal Environment Agency has commissioned INFRAS and its partner office Adelphi to uncover the blind spots in the federal budget and to develop a methodology with which expenditure on climate adaptation can be regularly recorded in future at a manageable cost.
Expenditure items analysed item by item
The project team analysed the 2022 budget item by item. «We started by identifying all the expenses that are potentially relevant to climate adaptation», explains Anik Kohli, expert for climate policy at INFRAS. «We then worked closely with the relevant federal administration officials to estimate what percentage of each expenditure actually goes towards climate adaptation measures.» This allows the expenditure items to be categorised and weighted according to the amount of the contribution. According to the estimate, the total expenditure amounts to 2.1 to 3.4 billion euros, which corresponds to less than 1% of the total budget.
Comparison of expenditure and costs
The new German Climate Adaptation Act which came into force on 1 July 2024, stipulates the regular collection of federal expenditure on climate adaptation. With the methodology co-developed by INFRAS, the Federal Environment Agency can now collect this data independently on an annual basis with little effort. Only when there is a change of government or at the beginning of a new legislative period a more detailed analysis is required.
INFRAS has also developed a concept for a national damage register for Germany. Both together – the monitoring of expenditure and damage sums – are an important basis for successful climate adaptation. «The expenditure can thus be compared with the actual costs incurred as a result of climate change-related damage», says Kohli. «With further development of the methodology, it would also be possible in future to carry out a rough cost-benefit analysis and use the data for planning climate adaptation activities in addition to monitoring.»
Further information
Further INFRAS project on this topic
Project team
