How can a climate district support policymakers in their efforts to drive climate transformation? The climate district uses a co-design approach that promotes local action through targeted guidance and support. In the Zähringen district of Freiburg im Breisgau, this support includes financial resources, space, collaboration with other stakeholders, facilitation of workshops, and communication measures. The district aims to move towards climate neutrality by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening resilience.
Zähringen’s climate district observations
Context Freiburg im Breisgau
Freiburg im Breisgau aims to be climate-neutral by 2035, ahead of the German-wide goal of 2045. To achieve this transition, targeted investments in climate measures are needed. Recent measures include, for example, the "so weit so gut" city-wide awareness campaign and the climate district Zähringen. In the climate district, the measure could be observed for five months. The district uses a co-design approach that promotes local citizens’ climate action through targeted facilitation and support. In Zähringen, this support includes: (1) financial resources, (2) providing space, (3) collaboration with other stakeholders, (4) facilitating workshops, and (5) communication measures. This support is mainly organized by the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, and its project partners AllWeDo and Haus des Engagements.
Goal and approach of the climate district
The overall aim of the climate district is to enable citizens to implement their own projects related to climate change mitigation and community strengthening. Therefore, by enabling citizens, the project may help close the knowledge-action gap discussed earlier in the transportation sector. For that participation and move towards action is in the project initiated through (1) a welcoming event that took place in October 2025, (2) a multiplier event to analyze existing infrastructures on local climate action and ideate on new ideas in January 2026, (3) a vision and action workshop in March 2026 , and (4) different moderated activities to form in focused groups climate action initiatives.
Key observations
The key observations highlighted the necessity of long-term, transparent communication views and the relevance of participation. The climate district highlights the significant time investment needed to build trust and engagement, as evidenced by the project's 1.5-year duration. It takes time to build new groups that are willing and guided to start new climate action projects; long-term facilitation and support could help here. Compared to the long-term initiatives in Zurich, which span 6 years, it may be valuable to assess the effects of the structural timeframes. Transparency is identified as an important factor; its absence led to frustration and a slowdown in discussions. Hopeful messages, such as imagery generated from the vision and action workshop, were well received. However, these positive emotions may be further strengthened by enabling citizens to undertake district-wide climate actions. Leveraging existing initiatives during the project provides a valuable opportunity not only to create a starting point for new initiatives but also to share their expertise and reach existing target audiences. Because the district is located within the previous research area in Germany, the previous research findings are applicable. Additionally, the climate district context supports strategies for policymakers to advance climate change mitigation and its acceptance. The overall aim of the project is to enable citizens to implement their own projects related to climate change mitigation and community strengthening. By supporting citizen initiatives, the project may help close the knowledge-action gap, which is identified as a key obstacle to climate transformation.
Reflection
Climate districts may help support local action and amplify behavioral change. Further, the initiatives may benefit from findings in climate communication, as similarities have emerged in their struggles. Also, engaging with the issue of climate change in an accessible way may systematically strengthen acceptance of climate change mitigation measures. Furthermore, the resilience to misinformation and influences from different power structures. For that, it may be useful to assess acceptance of climate measures before and after a climate district initiative to see the effects of such efforts. In conclusion, the efforts appear promising in systematically approaching climate communication to foster local participation in climate change mitigation and its adaptation. However, the final impact may still be difficult to measure, as these initiatives are also resource- and time-intensive.