Abstract
<jats:p>Contrary to superficial considerations that climate protection should be regarded solely as a national, if not primarily supranational, govern-mental task, measures to combat climate change and its negative con-sequences require political action at all federal levels from an economic perspective. This explicitly includes the level of local authorities. In view of this, this article draws on the economic theory of federalism to identify the most important justification arguments for a significant municipal contribution to climate protection and adaptation. This is followed by a closer look at the fundamental options for shaping legis-lative, implementation and financing powers in relation to climate poli-cy measures by local authorities. Finally, there is a more detailed con-sideration of the different starting points for climate protection and ad-aptation measures at local authority level.</jats:p>