Süddeutsches Klimabüro am Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

The South German Climate Office at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is an interface between climate research and society. Since 2007, it has been supporting the media, public institutions, associations, business and politics in understanding and classifying climate science findings and making them useful for decision-making.

The range of services includes the preparation and communication of scientifically sound information on climate and regional climate change in southern Germany, the classification of extreme weather events and advice on climate protection and climate change adaptation. The Climate Office promotes dialog between research and social actors, identifies information needs from practice and feeds these back into scientific work.

The LandWandel project develops innovative, scientifically based climate indicators that support regional stakeholders in systematically planning and implementing climate change adaptation measures. The focus is on rural and small-town areas in Baden-Württemberg, where climate change is having an increasing impact on infrastructure, services of general interest and regional development.

The South German Climate Office prepares high-resolution regional climate data in a practical way and translates it into comprehensible decision-making bases for municipalities, public companies and specialist administrations. Thanks to the close exchange with partners in the field, local experience flows directly into the scientific work. The parameters developed also support the transfer of knowledge to other areas of society; companies can also use them as a basis for site-specific assessments in the future.

With the PROLOK project, the South German Climate Office is developing a process scheme for local adaptation to increasing heat stress. The aim is to provide small municipalities and regional stakeholders with a structured approach for analyzing heat risks, setting priorities and deriving suitable measures.

The range of services includes the provision of regional climate information, the classification of heat trends and support in the dialog between science, administration and practice. The results help to minimize health-related risks and safeguard the quality of life locally. The approaches developed are generally transferable and can also be used by other stakeholders, such as public institutions or companies.

The KommMa project aims to make municipal climate protection systematic, comparable and efficient. Together with other KIT partners, the South German Climate Office is developing science-based concepts for prioritizing, evaluating and combining climate protection measures.

This provides local authorities, administrations and political decision-makers with a sound basis for planning climate protection strategies in a targeted manner, using resources efficiently and recognizing synergies between measures. The project also strengthens the exchange between science and practice and supports cooperation at regional level. The results may also be of significance for other social stakeholders, including companies, in the future.