Despite billions in investments in climate protection and climate adaptation, German municipalities still have to do more in the coming years, according to the state development bank KfW. “Municipalities, cities and districts must significantly increase the previous level of investment in order to achieve the goal of climate neutrality,” said KfW chief economist Fritzi Köhler-Geib in Frankfurt.
According to projections by the KfW, municipal investment needs amount to around 5.8 billion euros annually. According to a survey, the municipalities themselves also expect higher spending. However, more than half assume that they can only finance a small part of the additional investments from their own funds. In their financial planning for the next five years, the municipalities have earmarked only around 3.5 billion euros a year for climate protection and climate change adaptation. In order to be able to invest more, according to KfW, they want simplified and new funding programs as well as more financial resources.
In 2021, according to the results of the survey of districts and municipal and municipal finance departments with more than 2,000 inhabitants, around four billion euros and thus around 15 percent of all municipal investments were attributable to climate protection measures.
The largest investment project for the municipalities in the past three years was the energetic refurbishment of buildings. The installation of photovoltaic systems and the conversion of the lighting to LEDs were also financially expensive projects. Measures to protect against flooding and heavy rain were most frequently implemented to adapt to climate change.
