In response to climate change, one of Hamburg’s objectives is to become greener, in the city and on the roofs. In this context, Hamburg is the first German city to have developed a comprehensive Green Roof Strategy. The goal is to plant a total of 100 hectares of green roof surface in the metropolitan area in the next decade. The Hamburg Ministry for Environment and Energy is providing financial support for the creation of green roofs to the sum of € 3 million until the end of 2019.

Building owners can receive subsidies to cover up to 60% of installation costs. Additional benefit stems from lower maintenance costs due to the longer lifetime of green roofs, lower energy costs because of improved building insulation and a 50% reduction on rain water fees thanks to the rain water retention function of green roofs.