Kommunalrichtlinie

The Kommunalrichtlinie is the federal funding for municipal climate action. Its full name is the directive on federal funding for municipal climate action. The programme belongs to the National Climate Initiative and is awarded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Since 2008, the federal government has funded climate action projects in municipalities through it. A non-repayable grant is paid out, not a loan.

Unlike many funding programmes, the Kommunalrichtlinie bundles strategic and capital projects in one federal programme. You can first have a climate action concept and a post for climate action management funded and then the investment itself. Pure investment funding only pays for the plant, not for the planning beforehand.

What stands out is that applications are open all year round. For several funding priorities you can submit your application at any point in the year. You therefore align the project start with your budget and not with a cut-off date.

Municipal actors are eligible to apply. These include municipal corporations, municipal associations as well as publicly owned and municipal institutions. Operators of municipal infrastructure can also submit applications. In individual funding priorities, non-profit bodies are additionally eligible.

Companies are not the target group here. The Kommunalrichtlinie is geared to the municipal sector, and there is no staggering by company size. If you run a company and want to finance a climate action project, another programme will get you there.

The municipal connection in Germany is the hard condition. Check first whether your organisation is one of the bodies named, because the entire application depends on it.

Climate action projects in your municipality are funded, from strategy through to investment. This includes climate action concepts and the deployment of climate action management, consultancy services, capital measures on municipal infrastructure as well as the conversion of outdoor lighting and traffic signal systems.

Climate-friendly mobility is a priority in its own right. It funds cycle parking facilities, for example, along with off-grid photovoltaic systems with storage where these supply the technical equipment of such cycle parking facilities. For cycle parking facilities, land costs, planning services, ancillary building costs, financing costs and mobile installations are not eligible. Take these items out of your calculation before you submit the application.

You receive a non-repayable grant towards your eligible expenditure. Two things determine the amount: the funding priority of your project and whether your municipality counts as financially weak. Financially weak municipalities receive the higher rate in every priority.

For a climate action concept with climate action management, the rate is 65% for an initial project and 70% for financially weak municipalities. For a follow-on project the rates are 50% and 60%. For consultancy services and concepts, 50% and 70%. For climate-friendly mobility measures, 50% and 70%. For capital measures as well as outdoor lighting and traffic signal systems, 40% and 60%.

The Kommunalrichtlinie pays more than 70% in no priority.