The legal debate on adaptation to climate change shows that international and European regulations are primarily based on soft targets. The European Union goes beyond international law and, with the Governance Regulation and the European Climate Law, establishes a structured framework that includes both reporting obligations and strategic planning. Nevertheless, adaptation policy in many areas remains dependent on concrete implementation by member states, as regional differences significantly determine the requirements for adaptation measures. In addition, national guidelines are also being developed in response to the local impacts of climate change.

The coherence of European climate adaptation policy has improved in recent years, particularly through the creation of uniform guidelines for reporting obligations by member states. Nevertheless, the European Court of Auditors' investigation shows that there are still shortcomings in implementation, which are due, on the one hand, to a lack of indicators for assessing adaptation progress or insufficient use of existing EU instruments, but also to actual maladaptation.

 

 

The KAnG as an improvement to the national adaptation strategy in Germany The Climate Adaptation Act (KAnG) now provides a legal basis for adaptation to climate change for the first time. It supplements existing strategies with mandatory requirements for the continuation of a preventive climate adaptation strategy, as well as institutionalized climate risk analysis and monitoring mechanisms. This strengthens the coherence between the various adaptation instruments at the national level and improves compliance with European reporting obligations. At the same time, the success of these measures remains dependent on consistent implementation and ongoing evaluation.

Overall, it is clear that climate adaptation is a dynamic field of action that requires constant development and adjustment. There needs to be even greater coherence between international and national measures and policies. The challenges lie in the legal framework, which, although it has a good foundation, particularly at the EU level, lacks binding indicators. There are no sanction mechanisms for inadequate measures, which hinders local implementation and weakens the assurance of long-term, sustainable strategies. One task that may be important in the future is the comparability of adaptation measures.

Citation: 

Peuser, A. "Die Kohärenz von Klimawandelanpassungsvorgaben der Europäischen Union und deren Erfüllung in Deutschland" 

Diritto e clima 2025

 

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