In this year’s special survey topic, the KfW Municipal Panel addresses climate change mitigation and adaptation as probably the largest transformative task municipalities currently face. The responses returned by cities, communities and districts show that climate action accounts for nearly EUR 3 billion in the core budget and a further EUR 2 billion in outsourced operations, making up around 15% of planned investments. With around EUR 1 billion in the core budget and half a billion in outsourced operations, municipalities are dedicating less than 4% of planned investments to climate change adaptation measures. More than half the municipalities expect climate change mitigation and adaptation investments to rise in the future. However, there are signs that this investment growth will not be sufficient to achieve the climate targets. Furthermore, 51% of municipal treasuries believe the existing funding mix will not be suitable for meeting the higher investment needs. municipalities are making it hard to increase public investment systematically and vigorously.

Municipal climate action investment: between growing needs and limited resources(PDF, 258 KB, accessible)

Press release