The Dialogue Climate Adaptation – conducted during the years 2023 and 2024 – encompassed various elements of stakeholder and citizen participation. It made an important contribution to the further development of the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change, which was adopted by the Federal Cabinet in December 2024. Stakeholders were involved through a dialogue event, an informal online consultation, and a formal consultation. A total of 376 experts from 212 different organizations took part. In addition, around 330 citizens participated in five regional dialogues and almost 2,000 people took part in a nationwide online participation.  

The report presents the topics and recommendations that stakeholders and citizens contributed to the various clusters of the adaptation strategy, as well as how these were incorporated. For example, topics such as greening, careful use of water resources, and the particular sensitivity of vulnerable groups are reflected in the strategy. The Adaptation Action Plan IV, which bundles the measures of the strategy, contains various measures relating to education, information, research, and consulting – all of which are considered important by the participants. Additionally, the researchers explain which topics from the participation process were not addressed in the strategy. These include, among others, energy infrastructure, information and communication infrastructure, tourism, and finance.  

Based on their experience with the dialogue and the accompanying evaluation, the authors draw conclusions for future participation processes: Important factors include early planning and promotion of participation, sufficient time for assessing and interpreting the results and transparency regarding participation goals and outcomes. In future participation processes, even stronger efforts should be made to involve previously underserved and particularly vulnerable groups in complementary formats. 

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