The climate crisis makes it imperative for municipalities - especially in densely built-up innercity areas - to plant a large number of new trees.

This is all the more necessary as the impacts of the climate crisis - such as an increasing number of tropical nights and temperatures above 30 °C over large parts of the summer month - have in recent years led to a clear deterioration in quality of life, particularly for vulnerable groups.

Moreover, the EU Nature Restoration Law obliges Member States - and in Germany both the federal states and the municipalities - to achieve a significant increase in tree-canopy cover by 2030 and 2040 respectively.

Today, however, many urban open spaces in German cities are still characterized by large, sealed surfaces. Many of these areas could potentially serve as tree-planting sites, but targeted efforts are needed to make them usable for green urban development. In addition, the often poor soil conditions in urban environments - not only due to numerous underground utilities, but also because of wartime debris, contaminated sites, and heterogeneous backfill - impede the development of healthy trees and make the urban context even more complex.

Three experts from the green sector will address this topic in short presentations from their respective professional perspectives and will then be available for questions and discussion.