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Studierende sitzt am Arbeitsplatz und schaut auf den Laptop. © Aliona Kardash​/​TU Dortmund
Award for Green Team project

Shaping climate adaptation together: Green Team receives the ‘Klima kommunal’ award

Group photo from the "Klima kommunal" awards ceremony at the Old City Hall in Hanover © KEAN​/​Rainer Jensen
"Klima kommunal" Award Ceremony: (from right) Lena Hübsch (from NIKO, presenting the award), Joachim Müller (Dortmund University of Technology), Martin Weichers (City of Papenburg), Christian Meyer, Minister of the Environment of Lower Saxony, Walter Pengemann (Emsland District), and Dr. Jan Arning (Executive Director of the Lower Saxony Association of Cities and Towns)
The city of Papenburg, the district of Emsland and TU Dortmund are delighted to have received a special award: the ‘Green Team’ project was recognised as a climate protection flagship in the 2026 Lower Saxony ‘Klima kommunal’ competition. Technical University of Dortmund is a partner in the European project and, together with the participating local authorities, is developing new approaches to climate adaptation.

The ‘Green Team’ is part of a project within the Interreg North Sea Europe programme. It is initiated by the Province of Antwerp and the Technical University of Dortmund. The sfs researchers Stephanie Bund, Joachim Müller, and Jürgen Schultze are collaborating on this with the city of Papenburg, the district of Emsland, and the municipalities of Middelburg in the Netherlands and Putte in Belgium. The aim is to embed climate adaptation permanently within local authorities.

In Papenburg, the Green Team brings together staff from these sectors. They incorporate climate adaptation into planning at an early stage. The aim is not to assess it only at the end of a project, but to ensure it shapes the project’s development from the outset. This collaboration demonstrates how local authorities can tackle the consequences of the climate crisis as a joint cross-cutting task. At the same time, the project partners are testing solutions that can be applied to other towns and regions.

“I am delighted to receive this award and am proud of my colleagues who are driving the Green Team forward with such great commitment,” says Papenburg’s Mayor, Vanessa Gattung. “I would also like to thank the district of Emsland and our other project partners for their excellent cooperation and valuable exchange of ideas. The award is a wonderful recognition of what we have achieved together.”

Dortmund Technical University (TU Dortmund) is contributing its expertise to this international collaboration. Together with its local partners, the project team is developing and testing ways to integrate climate adaptation into administrative structures and decision-making processes. The exchange between academia and local government practice plays a central role in this.

The Emsland district also regards this approach as a significant asset. “We see the particular added value of the Green Team project in the joint alliance through which we are developing local, regional and, at the same time, transferable solutions for adapting to the impacts of climate change,” says Dr Michael Kiehl, the responsible department head for the Emsland district. “The award motivates us to carry on.”

Fifty-six local authorities took part in the 2026 ‘Klima kommunal’ competition with a total of 85 projects. The Green Team of the City of Papenburg is one of the eight award-winning climate protection flagship projects. The award comes with prize money of 15,000 euros.

The competition is organised by Lower Saxony’s leading local authority associations in collaboration with the Lower Saxony Ministry for the Environment. It raises the profile of innovative projects for climate protection and adaptation to the effects of climate change. The awards recognise initiatives that can also provide inspiration for other local authorities in their work.

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