Local climate protection in science

Mitigating and adapting to climate change is an urgent and complex issue. This is particularly challenging for those who have to make the actual decisions on how to start and which measures to prioritise. Especially in the public sector, regulations are made at the European or national level, but implementation is the responsibility of local authorities such as cities, villages and municipal companies, which adds a complex task to their scarce financial and human resources. The South German Climate Office at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) aims to provide advice and disseminate knowledge on climate change to society and the public sector through various projects. One current project is the development of a graph database, in which a variety of climate protection measures are implemented. The key elements are: firstly, a proper and neutral assessment of each measure according to scientific standards; secondly, a quantification of different aspects of the measure to facilitate prioritisation; and thirdly, using the nature of the graph database to link different measures to each other and to their climate targets.

The project was prompted by a request from a public service to use scientific expertise to help the public navigate the overwhelming flood of information.  In a joint series of workshops with municipalities, municipal companies and KIT, a number of key issues (energy, mobility, water management) and decision factors (climate impact, social acceptance, financial burden, timeframe) were identified. These define the first framework for the database and the evaluation of climate protection measures. A team of scientists from different institutes (KIT-IIP, KIT-ITAS, KIT-IfV, KIT-IMK, KIT-Division IV) covering the thematic side as well as the social factor evaluates the measures according to their expertise and implements them in the database. Through intensive consultation with the Association of Municipal Companies and partner cities and municipal companies, the database is tested for practical suitability. The aim of the project is to facilitate decision-making in the municipal sector on climate change mitigation measures, thereby reducing the burden on financial and human resources and increasing the proportion of decisions made on the basis of neutral, scientifically sound information