Germany's SPD demands constitutional change for climate funding

Action plan unveiled

Germany's Social Democratic Party ministers on Monday called for a constitutional amendment to expand federal funding for climate adaptation, proposing a national heat action plan and stronger worker protections as the country faces intensifying heat waves. The four-page action plan, reported by public broadcaster ZDF, outlined changes to urban planning laws and new financing mechanisms to address wildfires and water shortages.

Legal justification

The ministers argued that constitutional change is essential to allow federal participation in financing measures currently delegated to states and municipalities. Such a change is "a prerequisite" for the federal government to participate in financing municipal or state tasks "and thus contribute in the long term, legally securely and comprehensively to measures for climate adaptation and nature conservation," the paper said.

"The consequences of climate change are affecting people worldwide and increasingly also us in Germany," the ministers wrote, citing heat stress and forest fires.

Coalition hurdles

Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc has reacted skeptically to the proposals, with party representatives questioning the practical benefits of amending the constitution. They pointed to the difficulty of securing the required two-thirds majority in parliament, according to local media reports, as SPD sources said the plans would be discussed among coalition parties in the coming days.