Berlin Senate rejects 300,000 new street trees due to costs!

Berlin Senate rejects 300,000 new street trees due to costs!

On July 1, 2025, the Berlin Senate rejected the application for the initiation of a referendum to plant 300,000 additional street trees. The initiative comes from the "Tree decision" initiative, which also provides for new green spaces and improved rainwater management with its draft law. Environmental Senator Ute Bonde (CDU) commented and blamed the high costs of at least 7.2 billion euros for the implementation of the project. This sum would occur in the period from 2025 to 2040, which prompted the Senate to reject the law package.

Bonde pointed out that a success of the referendum could possibly restrict other important services for citizens. The focus of the initiative on the green infrastructure is one -sided and must be supplemented by more comprehensive investments in the entire urban infrastructure. This thesis is particularly supported by the fact that there is currently no suitable locations for the planned locations.

Need for climate adjustment

The rejection of the referendum is in the context of urban climate adaptation, which according to Senate is a central task. The state government supports goals that aim to protect people and infrastructure from the effects of climate change and extreme weather events. Berlin has already installed legal regulations and plan works to implement climate adaptation measures. A heat action plan is to be adopted this year, which demonstrates a proactive approach. In addition, the Senate is working on a climate risk analysis and a holistic climate adaptation strategy, which should deliver a comprehensive plan of measures by the end of 2026

also the [Federal Environment Agency] (https://www.umweltbundeamt.de/themen/klimaenergie/klimafolgen-anpfahrt/anpahn-an-klimawandel/anption-auf-kommunaler-bene emphasizes the role of the municipalities in the development of adjustment measures. The municipal general provision includes drinking water supply, wastewater disposal and flood protection. It is therefore crucial that local initiatives are effectively integrated to adapt to climate change. The BUND promotes these activities and provides tools for support, such as advisory services for adapting to climatic changes.

future prospects and referendum

The initiative "tree decision" plans to collect signatures for a referendum. If the initiative succeeds in collecting around 170,000 signatures within four months, a referendum could occur. It is planned to carry out the vote in parallel to the House of Representatives in September 2026. Despite the rejection of the Senate, the topic of climate compensation and the protection of infrastructures remains an urgent matter for Berlin politics and society.