Germany’s Sponge Cities to Tackle Heat and Flooding

Germany promotes nature-based solutions to advance climate change adaptation in cities. By imitating the natural water cycle, green roofs, façades and other green spaces absorb the rainwater where it lands, soaking it up like a sponge until it can infiltrate into the ground or evaporate. This serves as a natural flood prevention and also helps keep buildings cool, encouraging biodiversity and improving air quality and citizens’ well-being. Many German cities have embarked on greening their buildings.