Adaptation to climate change
Due to its location in the Upper Rhine Plain and the Rhine-Main area, as well as its historically dense urban structure with few green spaces, the state capital of Mainz is one of the cities in Germany with the highest thermal stress.
Since the mid-1980s, protecting the local climate has been widely accepted by the administration, politicians (Climate Protection Advisory Council since 1994), and citizens. The results of expert reports, the statements of climate-ecological plans, and the resulting recommendations and measures are taken into account and observed in planning processes.
As part of the "KLIMPRAX" project (2013-2020, project management: HLNUG), the existing thermal stress in Mainz was confirmed and the climate change expected for the period 2031-2060 was forecast, showing a significant increase in summer and hot days and, in particular, tropical nights. Vulnerable population groups were identified.
The protection of the global climate has been under consideration since the 1990s, and energy balances and concepts have been drawn up. Since 2016, Mainz has been a 100% climate protection master plan municipality. The catalog of measures has recently been supplemented, updated, and refined. The goal is climate neutrality by halving final energy consumption compared to 1990 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 95%. Since the city council's decision on the "climate emergency," Mainz has been striving for climate neutrality by 2035.
Mainz has recognized that measures to counteract global warming and measures to adapt to climate change are both necessary. It is necessary to develop a strategy for adapting to climate change.
The aim is to link existing individual measures, for example from the landscape plan, the biodiversity strategy, and urban land-use planning, with new and additional measures, and to identify and close gaps.
Participation and communication, awareness raising, planning, consultation, cooperation, and interdisciplinary collaboration are essential components of the project.