Making municipalities climate-fit –
how adaptation protects our health

Heat, heavy rain, pollen allergies – climate change threatens our health in many ways. How can cities and local authorities, as key living environments, help protect the population from these health risks? This question was the focus of the dialogue forum held at the Deutsches Museum in Munich to mark the exhibition ‘Planetary Health – At the Heart of Humanity and the Planet’.

In her keynote speech, Prof. Annette Peters, Director of the Institute of Epidemiology at Helmholtz Munich, outlined the effects of climate change on our health. “At the moment, heat is still the main risk, but the threat posed by heavy rainfall is also increasing.” She cited the 2003 heatwave as an example, which is estimated to have claimed more than 30,000 lives across Europe, primarily due to cardiovascular failure and respiratory diseases. A few years ago, it was not anticipated that climate change would affect Germany to such a significant extent. “Our temperature rise is significantly higher than the global average,” she emphasised. 

Over the past two decades, heatwaves have occurred in waves and affected different regions to varying degrees, with the focus being on eastern and southern Germany. The rule is: the longer it is hot, the higher the mortality rate, because the nights no longer bring any relief and the heat builds up inside homes. “That is why local action is so important in the climate crisis,” she said. Densely built-up cities such as Berlin, in particular, must take countermeasures to protect particularly vulnerable groups such as the elderly, the chronically ill, pregnant women and young children. Peters also pointed out that socially isolated people or those with low socio-economic status are particularly affected.

Heidelberg is regarded as a pioneer in municipal climate adaptation in Germany. “We have been implementing measures at various levels since the 1990s,” explained Raoul Schmidt-Lamontain, Heidelberg’s Mayor for Climate Protection, Environment and Mobility. In recent years, he added, the protection of public health has increasingly come to the fore. This includes retrofitting in the form of de-sealing and greening, as well as climate-friendly planning of new buildings to avoid the mistakes of the past. A key component is the specially developed Heidelberg Climate Scanner, which enables an automatic preliminary climate-ecological assessment of construction projects. This ensures that a microclimate that is as adapted as possible and promotes health can be secured right from the planning stage. This also attracts the interest of landlords seeking to ensure a high quality of living in the long term. 

Many health threats, such as more aggressive pollen or the emergence of the Asian tiger mosquito, are only gradually coming to public attention. People need to be educated about these too. Heat action plans are helpful, but in Zurek’s view, they are not sufficient on their own. However, they can help to protect particularly vulnerable groups. According to Peters, we must not lose sight of the influence of other factors such as air pollution. “Although the limit values in Europe have been tightened, they will not come into effect until 2030,” she criticised.

For the green city of the future, the challenge is to reconcile growth with existing structures and the requirements of climate adaptation. “We quickly reach a critical point here, because on the one hand we want to create more green spaces and on the other hand more housing,” Lang admitted. However, a competition in the Moosach district has shown that redensification and more green spaces are compatible if all stakeholders work together from the outset. For instance, the targeted use of mobility hubs could remove cars from the streets and create space for more greenery. Furthermore, when adding storeys, fresh air corridors must be taken into account, as must the issue of mutual shading. 

The problem, however, is this: how do cross-sector alliances come about? In Munich, the city’s Climate Council discusses the relevant issues at various levels, with a focus on equity. “We need to find a consensus that is feasible and acceptable to everyone,” said Health Councillor Zurek, setting the tone. We also need to overcome mental barriers to find creative solutions. She cited a walk through the green oasis of the Waldfriedhof cemetery as an example: “It’s almost like a walk in the Alpine foothills.” The so-called ‘ ’ (Green Building) – building type E as a planning approach in building regulations – where the ‘E’ stands for ‘simple’ or ‘experimental’ – is, in Lang’s view, suitable as a test case for breaking new ground in construction projects. “We must bring about a paradigm shift and put people at the centre when we build,” added epidemiologist Peters.

A major obstacle to retrofitting greenery is the limited space underground. “A tree’s root system is roughly the same size as its crown,” Mayor Schmidt-Lamontain pointed out. In Heidelberg, the Tree Protection Ordinance has therefore been amended so that certain trees no longer enjoy protection over critical utility lines, in order to facilitate access. In an emergency, these trees may then be felled without the otherwise stringent environmental restrictions. However, Schmidt-Lamontain emphasised that this is still better than not planting any trees at all.

Keynote: The Impact of Climate Change on Health - Evidence and Approaches for Local Action

Prof. Annette Peters
Director of the Institute of Epidemiology at Helmholtz Munich; Professor of Epidemiology, IBE, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich; Chair of the NAKO Health Study

Podiumdiscussion: 

Beatrix Zurek
Health Commissioner, City of Munich

Prof. Annette Peters
Director of the Institute of Epidemiology at Helmholtz Munich; Professor of Epidemiology, IBE, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich; Chair of the NAKO Health Study

Raoul Schmidt-Lamontain
Mayor for Climate Protection, Environment and Mobility, City of Heidelberg

Prof. Werner Lang
Chairholder of Energy-Efficient and Sustainable Design and Construction, Technical University of Munich

Moderation:

Renate Bleich
Chair, Munich Re Foundation