Standing together against extreme weather
Germany is working around the world to help mitigate the impact of extreme weather events. Three projects at a glance.
From research to protection
Heavy rainfall and flooding are just some of the acute consequences of climate change. They threaten the lives and livelihoods of many people around the world. The Federal Ministry for Education and Research has invested €840m in around 500 civil defence projects over the past five years. These include projects that are investigating how extreme weather events affect civil defence. For example, the “HoWa-Pro” project is developing an innovative process to measure rainfall at a local level. The early warning system is designed to predict the risk of flooding as accurately as possible and can be used around the world.
Resilience and adaptation
There’s no way of stopping extreme weather events. That’s why boosting resilience is a major part of any climate strategy alongside predicting events and dealing with the after-effects. Germany’s international development agency GIZ is helping partner countries adapt to extreme weather, water shortages and rising sea levels. In Bangladesh, for example, up to 20m people could lose their homes due to climate change by 2050. GIZ is supporting the country by offering new career prospects to climate migrants. Training specialists in mental health support during periods of crisis is another way of boosting climate resilience.
Helping victims
The climate crisis is affecting everyone, but it is hitting developing and emerging countries particularly hard. The German Red Cross is working on behalf of Germany’s Foreign Office through projects to promote climate resilience and disaster preparedness with the goal of mitigating the humanitarian impact. The projects include repairing a reservoir in Sudan and setting up logistics and supply chains in Madagascar. Germany’s Federal Government also set up the “Green Guarantee Group” (GGG) at the COP28 global climate conference. Until now, over 90% of green investment has gone to industrial countries. The GGG aims to redress this imbalance to help developing and emerging countries to achieve their climate goals.
