German associations call for heat protection to be enshrined in the Constitution

At the heart of their demand is an amendment to the Basic Law to explicitly enshrine heat protection within it. The associations believe that only a constitutional guarantee would make it possible to sustainably mobilize the necessary resources and compel public authorities to integrate this issue into all their policies. This demand comes against a backdrop of heat waves repeating year after year, with increasingly visible health and social consequences.

A demand for constitutional amendment

The organizations stress that certain populations are particularly exposed. Homeless people, the elderly, and those with chronic illnesses are among the groups most vulnerable to extreme temperatures. The Sozialverbände, social welfare associations, warn of a rise in mortality and a saturation of support systems, as heatwave episodes become more frequent and more intense.

The Deutscher Städtetag, for its part, insists on the central role of municipalities in crisis management. Cities, which are the first to face the concrete consequences of heat on roads, schools, hospitals, and facilities for the elderly, are calling for increased financial support from the federal government. They are also calling for a stable legal framework to plan long-term investments, for example in urban greening or the thermal renovation of public buildings.

Vulnerable populations on the front line

Civil society and political actors have already taken up the issue. Several parties have presented proposals in recent months around air conditioning, « Hitzefrei » – exemption from work during extreme heat – and the use of cooling materials such as damp sponges. The Grünen are among the most active parties on this issue, although no national consensus has yet emerged.

The associations are now calling for a dedicated summit to be convened, similar to what has been done for other major crises. They want the Federation, the Länder, and municipalities, including Bavaria, as well as associative and scientific actors to come together to develop a national heat protection strategy. The stated objective is to reach concrete decisions before next summer.

A national summit demanded

The question of enshrining it in the Constitution remains sensitive, however. An amendment to the Basic Law requires a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, which presupposes a broad political agreement. The promoters of the initiative hope that the growing severity of the phenomenon, supported by climate data and feedback from the field, will foster such a consensus.

In the meantime, the associations recall some immediate measures to be implemented: opening accessible air-conditioned venues, distributing water, intensifying outreach to homeless people, and adapting working hours. They stress that heat protection can no longer be treated as a secondary issue, but as a public health imperative in its own right.

It remains to be seen whether the federal government will follow up on this call. No official response had been communicated immediately after the publication of the appeal. The coming weeks will be decisive in measuring the political scope of this initiative, as social and media pressure on climate issues continues to grow in Germany.