Abstract
Addressing climate change adaptation in urban areas is increasingly urgent and requires fundamental
transformations of supply infrastructures such as transport and mobility, electricity and water supply or
telecommunication as well as an improved understanding of the interactions of these critical
infrastructures. Practical experiences show, that in general there is an awareness of these
interconnections, but for example emergency plans often fall short regarding the indirect influences of
climate change on infrastructural failures expected in the future. Therefore, there is also a growing need
for research and systemic approaches to overcome this isolated sectoral view of climate change impacts
on critical infrastructures. Against this background, the paper highlights the relevance of climate change
for critical infrastructures, infrastructure interdependencies and cascading effects. Furthermore, it takes
a hands-on deep dive into the topic by presenting the methodology and main results of a case study with
stakeholders in the metropolitan area of Hamburg.
