Overview
- Over the weekend of Aug. 15–16, SPD‑led ministries for environment, finance, social affairs, building and development published a four‑page Aktionsprogramm calling for a national heat plan and a Grundgesetz amendment.
- The paper asks to add a “Gemeinschaftsaufgabe Klimaanpassung und Naturschutz” to the constitution so the federal government can co‑finance long‑term adaptation projects that are now mainly the responsibility of Länder and municipalities.
- It also proposes immediate steps, including a bundled Sofortprogramm for hospitals and care homes, changes to building and planning law, stronger worker protections from heat and funding for façade and energy retrofits.
- Coalition leaders have begun internal consultations and plan a Bund‑Länder working group to draft precise constitutional wording by the Umweltministerkonferenz in November while the Finance Ministry has flagged possible use of the Sondervermögen for early measures.
- Major hurdles remain because a constitutional change needs two‑thirds majorities in Bundestag and Bundesrat, the Union has voiced scepticism, NGOs and parts of the opposition back faster action, and public pressure has risen after RKI‑linked estimates of roughly 10,000–12,500 heat‑related deaths this summer.