The global climate and biodiversity crisis is having a threatening impact on infrastructure, people and ecosystems. One strategy to protect human health and well-being is natural climate protection. However, implementing such a strategy, which includes measures to protect, improve and restore ecosystems, is not without its challenges at the local level, as it requires the cooperation of various administrative bodies and interest groups.

Digital technologies can help to initiate, implement and manage such projects. The extent of this potential and how existing barriers to implementation can be overcome was investigated by the project “Digital technologies and nature-based climate protection in municipalities” on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection. The aim was to analyze the potential of digital technologies to support the planning and implementation of natural climate protection at municipal level, to identify obstacles to implementation and to develop support measures to overcome these obstacles and realize the opportunities offered by digital technologies to support nature-based climate protection.

A literature analysis shows the diverse possibilities of digital technologies in various fields of action – from local sensors for measuring environmental variables to automated systems based on artificial intelligence for natural climate protection. Semi-structured interviews with municipal stakeholders as well as agencies and companies offering solutions in this area provided the research team with information on the various barriers to implementation, ranging from technical expertise to political support for such measures. Based on these findings, the potential analysis and further interviews with competence centers and best-practice examples, the researchers developed possible solutions. In workshops with ministerial actors, municipal stakeholders and competence centers, the project generated support and advisory services that provide a further basis for promoting the use of digital technologies in the municipal sector. Based on the approaches summarized in the publication, natural climate protection in municipalities can be strengthened and the development of municipal solutions for climate and biodiversity crises can be promoted.