Climate adaptation network of state authorities: Methods for developing an integrated policy mix for the German climate adaptation strategy

Mitigating the worst effects and risks of the climate crisis while taking social injustice into account requires social-ecological transformation. It is no wonder that the issue of adaptation to the impacts of climate change has become increasingly important in political and social discourse in recent years. Equally unsurprising is the fact that the number of stakeholders involved in climate change adaptation has continuously increased.

The German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (DAS) is the political framework for climate adaptation in Germany. To back it up with concrete action, the federal government adopted the Adaptation Action Plan (APA) in 2011, which includes numerous adaptation measures for all federal ministries. What is now the fourth Adaptation Action Plan (APA IV) requires a more extensive assessment of climate adaptation with regard to its effectiveness and possible positive socio-ecological impacts in Germany.

The project Climate adaptation network of state authorities: Methods for developing an integrated policy mix for the German climate adaptation strategy will make a key contribution in this context. It will help design and optimise effective, transformative policy for APA IV.

The project aims to develop proposals for transformative adaptation that supports socio-ecological change. The project team is developing methods for the ex-ante evaluation of adaptation and policy mixes with a special focus on expert-based impact analysis.

Overall, the project provides the network of authorities involved in climate change and adaptation with a scientifically valid process for the evaluation and selection of policy. The interaction of the developed methodological approaches aims not only to improve the effectiveness in terms of mitigating climate risks, but also enable more sustainable, socially oriented policy.

adelphi and INFRAS are carrying out the research project on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency. adelphi directs the implementation of the project and manages communication with the network of authorities. In addition, adelphi is responsible for the development of a methodology for the assessment of adaptation measures and is providing support for the consultation process with the network for the evaluation of APA IV.