Reconstruction.

So far, this term has mainly been used in Germany for the post-war period.

Since mid-July, reconstruction has also stood for a new beginning in today's Germany.

The consequences of the severe weather disaster in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate are so drastic.

The high number of dead.

The many injured.

The devastating damage.

The power supply for more than 200,000 people had also collapsed - no light, no mobile communications, no internet, no broadband, no function of the devices in the household.

A joint effort by municipalities, network operators, municipal utilities, fire brigade, THW and numerous other helpers got most households back on the grid within two weeks - but only with provisional solutions in many places. The catastrophe has shown that even in Germany, infrastructure is not a business without risk. It will take years to rebuild - with corresponding costs that must also be recognized by the regulatory authorities.

As if through a magnifying glass, we saw in the catastrophe: The complexity of our energy system and thus the basis for help and reconstruction requires not only great experience and competence, but also depth of added value.

This return to the network operator's own capabilities within the group and within the group made the rapid restoration of the supply possible in the first place.

Only in this way could the close partnership with the municipalities exist even in the event of a disaster.

For a reconstruction acceleration law

What the people in the disaster areas are now rightly demanding from politicians is fast and unbureaucratic support. A reconstruction acceleration law is needed. A temporary special status for the affected municipalities is needed. There, approval procedures for replacement routes or replacement structures are to be shortened to the bare minimum. Participation deadlines are to be optimized and procurement procedures made easier. The municipal representatives should be given more options to take decisions at short notice.

A first aid fund for reconstruction has already been announced. But the municipalities also need sustainable support from a climate change adaptation fund. To leave no doubt here: Our goal in Germany is a climate-neutral economy and society by the year 2045. Nevertheless, the consequences of climate change will also remain noticeable for us. It would be negligent to simply assume that all states will achieve the global climate targets on time, let alone want to.

Therefore, our focus cannot be solely on the restructuring of the energy system.

The cities and municipalities must be helped by a climate change adaptation fund to mitigate the foreseeable consequences of climate change and to operate systematic crisis prevention - by flood protection, by securing the water supply in periods of drought or by preventing forest fires.

It is about the protective function of the state.

It is about the further development of the joint federal and state task with regard to climate adaptation measures and the permanent involvement of the federal government and the states in the responsibility for financing.

And last but not least: It is about networked security through close cooperation between research, energy, construction and transport in politics and business.

Plan infrastructure measures together

All the more reason for the reconstruction in the disaster areas to be a new building. We have to plan and implement the energy system of the future here. In addition to flood resistance, this includes aligning the distribution network with the energy transition. We now need a technological leap. It starts with an openness to unconventional techniques when rebuilding the supply infrastructure. And this continues with the use of today's possibilities of IT and new materials - in urban planning as well as in its implementation.

The new infrastructures for electricity, gas, water and telecommunications as well as bridge and road construction must now be jointly planned and promoted. We need a concerted effort here. Mandatory municipal master plans can set minimum standards. In order to avoid inefficiencies, a coordinated approach between municipalities and infrastructure providers makes sense. The establishment of authority task forces could help. These reconstruction staff should form the interfaces to the infrastructure operators. In addition, they could provide support with the priority processing and approval of infrastructure issues. They would also be the central point of contact, for example for building permits, relocations or the acquisition of land. The reconstruction could be organized faster and more efficiently.

Standing together in a disaster must also be the image for a new beginning. We should trust in our direct interaction and the proverbial German engineering skill. We now need all the more individual responsibility on the part of the municipalities. Then we will also manage the reconstruction.