EUKI Changed to Ministry for the Environment
by Oliver Hölcke, GIZ
With the formation of the new federal government in May 2025, responsibility for national, European and international climate policy has been transferred to the Federal Ministry for the Environment. This change also affects the European Climate Initiative (EUKI). Its mandate remains unchanged.
EUKI is now based within in the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN). From 2022 to 2025, it operated under the Ministry for Economic Affairs.
Environment Minister Carsten Schneider welcomed the return of national, European and international climate policy from the Economic Affairs Ministry and Federal Foreign Office to the BMUKN.
“The Environment Ministry will now deal with future-focused environmental and climate policy issues from a single source once more.”
Environment Minister Carsten Schneider
EUKI will continue to be implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The change of departmental responsibility will not affect cooperation with EUKI’s project partners or funding and support for its portfolio of projects.
EUKI Programme Manager Nele Bünner explains: “EUKI will continue to strengthen cooperation across Europe in tackling climate change. We will keep supporting initiatives that advance climate action in Europe, bring together the European climate community and enhance the knowledge of climate actors so that civil society engagement has a lasting impact.”
Since its establishment in 2017, EUKI has supported more than 230 transnational climate projects and built a network of over 450 organisations in 31 European countries.