Political and administrative structures play an important role in climate adaptation. Political scientific analysis can identify factors and scopes of action, which could increase the adaptive capacity. The Governance Team therefore investigated key sectors in the Metropolitan Region, including spatial planning, water management, coastal and inland flood protection,
and civil protection.
The vulnerability analysis of the food industry in the Metropolitan Region Bremen-Oldenburg is based on an examination of the supply chains of the poultry, pork, dairy and fish industries.
Two circumstances have shaped the vulnerability assessment presented here: the current strong structural dynamics of the energy sector, albeit with no clear direction; and the fact that the energy providers have long been prepared to deal with a large variety of climatic and economic uncertainties.
ONNO e.V., the East Frisian Network for Ecology – Region – Future, functions as a mediator between its members affected by climate change, the scientists in the project nordwest2050, and the public. The Association is especially active in the area of food communications and education, in order to strengthen the perspective of sustainable food culture in East Friesland among all relevant actors. In the context of this project, this is especially being developed and deepened with respect to the issue of climate change.
The establishment of a consciousness for climate change processes and the necessary changes for climate-adapted agriculture and a climate-adapted food industry will require communications and interaction at the level of economic clusters, in order to initiate exchange and cooperation alliances by means of targeting network formation. The Oldenburg Münsterland Agriculture and Food Forum (AEF) is an association of 75 businesses in the agriculture and food sector which operates as an interface between the scientific community and everyday practice. In close cooperation with the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, key issues for regional climate adaptation measures have been developed on the basis of scientific ascertainments and practice-oriented needs.
The Freese Organic Farm is testing a number of adaptation options for agriculture, especially in the area of the cultivation of cereals and of high-quality vegetables. Open-field crop farming is becoming ever more difficult due to climate change. In order to better protect vegetable cultures from such extreme weather events as heat waves or heavy rain, the Freese Organic Farm is testing the following innovations: (1) A new greenhouse covering which, due to its particular permittivity, makes open-field-like light conditions possible in a protected structure. At the same time the farm is seeking resilient, climate adapted vegetable strains which are to be examined for their particular properties, both in open-field cultivation and under the protection of this innovative foil. (2) In the area of cereal raising, the organic farm is trying to cultivate an old strain of rye. (3) And by baking and marketing bread from this rye, the farm wants to raise consciousness about the issue of climate change and adaptation.
The survey of 4.000 companies in the metropolitan area of Bremen-Oldenburg in north-western Germany conducted by the University of Oldenburg as part of the ‚nordwest2050’ project in 2010 and 2012 showed that the economic importance of climate change is growing. The 2012 survey revealed that 38% of the companies polled already saw climate change as an important success factor for their company. In 2010, 31% of the companies surveyed said that they ascribed a “high” to “very high importance” to climate change for corporate success.
The Northwest of Germany is characterized by lively and modern cities and a rough landscape of coastal wetlands and moors. The flat land in the Northwest has long become a centre of logistics and harbor industry, of food production, and expertise in aerospace, energy and environmental technology. The region is one of Germany’s most dynamic industrial locations. nordwest2050 focuses on the Metropolitan Region Bremen-Oldenburg in the Northwest of Germany, a region with more than 2.3 million inhabitants