Seven Concrete Measures for Greater Climate Protection and Climate Adaptation

Violinist and climate ambassador Lea Brückner is the initiator of an open letter to the German federal government calling for seven concrete immediate measures to strengthen climate protection and climate adaptation.

Among the more than 60 prominent individuals and institutions from Germany’s cultural and creative industries who are initial signatories are bestselling author Cornelia Funke, actor and environmental activist Hannes Jaenicke, Hamburg jazz pianist Joja Wendt, award-winning actor Albrecht Schuch, Orchester des Wandels e.V., conductors Vladimir Jurowski and Thomas Guggeis, violist Tabea Zimmermann, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff, and many others.

Here is the open letter in full:

Dear Federal Chancellor Merz,
Dear Vice Chancellor Klingbeil,
Dear Members of the Federal Government,

As people working in Germany’s cultural and creative industries, we are addressing you with the following concern:

According to estimates by the Robert Koch Institute, approximately 9,600 people in Germany died as a result of heat during the extremely hot week of June 22–28, 2026 alone.* At the same time, a single day with temperatures above 30°C costs the German economy approximately €431 million. The economic damage caused by the two-week heat period in June was estimated at at least €6.3 billion.** Days with temperatures above 35°C result in costs of up to €1 billion.

With the devastating fires in southern Europe, drinking-water shortages, and the increasing number of extreme weather events, we are once again seeing this clearly: the world is literally already on fire. And yet there is still hesitation. Every additional hot summer costs human lives; increasingly frequent and intense weather extremes cause billions of euros in damage and pose enormous challenges to our social stability, including our democracy.

Climate protection is no longer a question of party politics or personal opinion. It is a question of political responsibility—and of how many lives, and what kind of future, we are prepared to protect. The Climate Action Tracker currently rates Germany’s climate policy as “Insufficient.”

Against this background, there is an urgent need for greater climate adaptation today. However, adaptation does not address the causes; it merely mitigates the consequences of the changes. Climate adaptation must therefore go hand in hand with stronger climate protection: at the regional, national, European, and global levels.

As artists and cultural professionals, we are aware of the particular responsibility we bear toward future generations. Culture creates spaces in which a society can recognize itself, reflect on its future, and change. We therefore call on the federal government to act decisively and without delay:

1. Do not merely adopt climate targets—meet them

Germany must comply with its legally established target of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 65% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, as well as achieving climate neutrality by 2045. The federal government must ensure that, whenever it becomes foreseeable that targets will not be met, additional measures are adopted immediately instead of subsequently weakening climate targets politically. The measures now adopted to change the funding structures for the expansion of renewable energy (EEG amendment) and the Building Modernization Act will result in additional rather than reduced emissions.***

2. Green cities and fewer paved surfaces

We call for an ambitious and binding climate-adaptation program for cities and municipalities: more trees and green spaces, green roofs and façades, fresh-air corridors, shaded areas, and the consistent removal of surface sealing. In the long term, net-zero land consumption must be achieved. Climate adaptation must not be played off against climate protection: we need both measures to prevent further warming and cities that better protect their populations from heat, heavy rainfall, and flooding.

3. Massively expand renewable energy in an environmentally compatible way

By 2030, at least 80% of gross electricity consumption should be supplied by renewable energy. To achieve this, approvals must be accelerated, sufficient areas for wind power must be made available, and solar energy must be expanded, particularly on rooftops, parking lots, already sealed surfaces, and suitable infrastructure sites. At the same time, electricity grids and storage capacity must keep pace with the expansion of renewable energy.

4. Significantly accelerate the transport transition

We call for massive and long-term investment in railways and public transportation, safe cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, and the consistent electrification of transport. Climate-friendly mobility must become more affordable, reliable, and attractive than the use of fossil-fuel-based transport. This also includes a speed limit on German motorways. Introducing a nationwide speed limit is not only a simple, quick, and inexpensive measure, but also one that has been supported by a majority of the population for years.

5. End climate-damaging subsidies

The state cannot promise climate protection while simultaneously continuing to financially favor fossil fuels and climate-damaging structures. We call for the reduction of climate-damaging subsidies and the redirection of the funds released toward renewable energy, public transportation, building renovation, climate adaptation, and socially equitable climate protection.

6. Give CO₂ an effective price—and make it socially fair

We call for effective carbon pricing combined with social compensation. Those who cause particularly high CO₂ emissions must contribute proportionately more toward financing the consequences of climate change. A substantial portion of the revenue must be returned to the population on a per-capita basis while also being specifically invested in climate-friendly infrastructure. This can make climate protection socially equitable: people who consume little and own little must not be disproportionately burdened.

7. Protect nature as climate protection

We call for the consistent protection and restoration of peatlands, forests, soils, and other natural carbon sinks. Drainage, deforestation, and further land sealing must be reduced. At the same time, damaged ecosystems must be restored. Climate protection, climate adaptation, and nature conservation must be considered together.

We are convinced that Germany has the financial, technological, and scientific capabilities to shape this transformation. What is lacking is not knowledge of what needs to be done—but the political determination to do it quickly enough.

Ambitious climate protection pays off, because the costs of inaction are significantly greater (high costs for adaptation measures and damage control/repair). Climate protection through the expansion of renewable energy, the consistent implementation of energy-saving opportunities, and the transition to a circular economy lead to significantly greater security of supply, reduced vulnerability to fragile import structures, and less dependence on volatile energy and raw-material prices.

We therefore demand: Act now! Not only after the next heatwave, the next forest fire, or the next flood.

The climate crisis will not wait for the next legislative term.

Yours sincerely,

The undersigned

Initial signatories

Lea Brückner, violinist and climate ambassador
Cornelia Funke, author
Sebastian 23, author
Hannes Jaenicke, actor
Wanja Mues, actor
Albrecht Schuch, actor
Natalia Belitski, actress
Janna Striebeck, actress
Pheline Roggan, actress
Vladimir Jurowski, conductor
Thomas Guggeis, General Music Director of the Frankfurt Opera
Joseph Bastian, conductor
Nabil Shehata, conductor/double bassist
Christoph Altstaedt, conductor
Clemens Schuldt, conductor
Simon Edelmann, conductor
Benedikt Haag, choral conductor
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Haenchen, conductor
Ralf Sochaczewsky, conductor
Gregor A. Mayrhofer, conductor, composer, artistic director of the Hidalgo Festival
Landesjugendorchester Bremen
Verein zur Förderung von Landesjugendensembles NRW e.V.
Orchester des Wandels e.V.
Tomas Kreibich-Nawka, artistic director
Sönke Lentz, orchestra director, Bundesjugendorchester
Tabea Zimmermann, violist
Tanja Tetzlaff, cellist
Maximilian Hornung, cellist
Vivi Vassileva, multipercussionist
Armida Quartet
Joja Wendt, pianist
Johanne Staemmler, violinist
Tanja Becker-Bender, violinist
Niklas Liepe, violinist
Prof. Henning Wiegräbe, trombonist
Prof. Matthias Höfs, German Brass
Prof. Rainer Kotzian, President of the Nuremberg University of Music / Chairman of the Bavarian Universities of Art consortium
Reinhold Friedrich, Professor emeritus at the Karlsruhe University of Music & the Barenboim-Said Academy Berlin
Hanno Müller-Brachmann, Professor of Voice & member of the Karlsruhe University Council
Steffen Tast, musician and conductor
Almut Voigt, Helke Schei

* https://www.rki.de/DE/Themen/Gesundheit-und-Gesellschaft/Gesundheitliche-Einflussfaktoren-A-Z/H/Hitze/Bericht_Hitzemortalitaet.html
** https://www.prognos.com/de/kosten-hitzewelle-juni-2026
***https://wupperinst.org/a/wi/a/s/ad/9253/