Federal Minister for the Environment Steffi Lemke commented: “The climate crisis and its consequences affect us directly – not at some point in the future, but here and now. We all have a shared responsibility to limit their extent and consequences. We have created a standardised framework for climate adaptation at federal, state and local level with the Federal Climate Adaptation Act. But effective climate protection can only succeed if the state and society work together. With the “Blue Compass” award, we would therefore like to highlight the many outstanding climate adaptation projects that are being implemented locally in municipalities, companies and by civil society to counter the consequences of the climate crisis.”
UBA President Dirk Messner added: “The recently published monitoring report on the German adaptation strategy from the UBA shows that the climate crisis is worsening and that efforts to adpat to climate change must be increased. Innovative projects are therefore needed that provide good practice examples for everyone to copy. The federal 'Blue Compass' competition is a unique opportunity to showcase practical ways of taking precautions against climate risks. Submit your application now!”
Innovative projects for climate mitigation and adaptation include, for example, measures for heat protection or occupational safety, especially for vulnerable people, climate-resilient product and production cycles, innovative concepts for dealing with new pathogens and invasive species, the cultivation of climate-adapted plant varieties, renaturalised moors and forests or nature-based measures for heavy rainfall preparedness.
Applications are now being accepted at www.uba.de/blauerkompass in the following four categories:
- Municipalities
- Private and municipal companies
- Research and educational institutions
- Clubs, associations and foundations
The competition awards prize money of 25,000 euros to the respective winners.
The deadline for applications is March 22, 2024.
The competition office will answer any questions about applying for the federal award by email ( blauerkompass \[at] uba \[dot] de ) or by telephone. The Climate Adaptation Centre (ZKA) will also be offering support with the application and further information on the federal award as part of an online webinar (“ZKA Spotlight”) on 28 February 2024.
Presentation of awards in September
Following the application phase, the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the German Environment Agency will nominate twenty projects for the federal award in May 2024. They will be supported by the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) and the competition office co2online in evaluating the projects.
A jury consisting of experts from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, the German Environment Agency, the municipal umbrella organisations and from the worlds of business and research, among others, will select one winning project in each category at the end of June 2024. In addition, a “Community Award” will be presented, for which interested members of the public can vote online at www.uba.de/tatenbank from 28 May 2024.
The five winning projects will be honoured at an award ceremony at the Federal Ministry for the Environment in Berlin on 19 September 2024 as part of Climate Adaptation Week. In addition to prize money of 25,000 euros each and an award, the winners will also receive support with their press and public relations work. Among other things, short films will be produced about each of the award-winning projects.
The “Blue Compass” federal award is presented every two years and the competition will take place for the fifth time in 2024.
Applications and further information on the competition can be found at
Information and application documents: www.uba.de/blauerkompass
“Blue Compass” competition office
c/o co2online
Phone: 030 36 99 61 - 12
E-Mail: blauerkompass [at] uba [dot] de
www.uba.de/blauerkompass
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