R2K-Klim+ policy paper published: From ideas to implementation

The recently published R2K-Klim+ policy paper provides important insights for the future development of Duisburg. It was drawn up last year by the project partners and brings together the project’s latest findings, highlights options for action, and offers ideas on how structural change can be shaped in a sustainable and forward-looking manner. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) as part of the ‘RegIKlim’ funding scheme and the federal ‘Wasser: N’ programme. ‘Wasser: N’ forms part of the BMFTR’s ‘Research for Sustainability (FONA)’ strategy.

The R2K-Klim+ project is scientifically based and equally practice-oriented. The recommendations derived from it are based on an inter- and transdisciplinary research process and are incorporated into the policy paper.

The policy paper brings together the project’s key findings and methodological foundations and is intended to stimulate discussion on future priorities for climate adaptation. At the same time, it provides guidance for the strategic implementation of specific measures in Duisburg.

In terms of content, the six recommendations address key challenges posed by climate change. These range from low water levels and flood protection, through heatwaves and the impacts on nature, using floodplains as an example, to a decision-support tool.

By example, this recommendation on the topic of low water levels provides a brief insight into the project’s findings:

• The Port of Duisburg is of central importance to the city and could further strengthen its position as a key hub for freight handling. At the same time, more frequent and prolonged periods of low water levels are placing new demands on logistics. Flexible solutions are therefore required that integrate shipping, rail and road transport in order to efficiently reallocate freight and minimise additional traffic congestion as far as possible. To plan for such situations and assess the resulting impacts, modelled traffic data was systematically analysed.

A more detailed explanation of this initiative, along with all the others, is presented in the Policy paper available via the following link: r2k-klim.net/ergebnisse