One Year of Berlin's Tree Law: More Flexibility Needed, Says State Secretary

One year ago, the Berlin parliament passed a sweeping climate adaptation law — nicknamed the Baumgesetz (tree law) — with the goal of doubling Berlin's street trees to around one million by 2040 and establishing cooling zones in heat-vulnerable neighbourhoods. The law originated with the citizen initiative BaumEntscheid, which drafted the text after the Senate initially resisted. On the first anniversary, the taz examined how implementation was going. Environmental State Secretary Andreas Kraus (CDU) described progress as broadly positive but called for significant modifications: underground pipes and cables make it physically impossible to plant trees at the prescribed intervals in many streets; new trees take years before they provide meaningful cooling; and the rigid legal numerical targets do not reflect ground realities. Kraus advocated for an amendment introducing flexibility clauses and expanding alternative cooling measures such as green roofs, façade planting, and evaporative cooling systems. The BaumEntscheid initiative hit back, accusing the administration of fabricating positive trends and dragging its feet. A climate adaptation congress with around 200 experts was scheduled for Thursday.