Paragraph 9(g) Urges Parties and invites non-Party stakeholders to pursue the objectives outlined in paragraph 8 above and to increase ambition and enhance adaptation action and support, in order to accelerate swift action at scale and at all levels, from local to global, in alignment with other global frameworks, towards the achievement of, inter alia, the following targets by 2030, and progressively beyond … :

(g) Protecting cultural heritage from the impacts of climate-related risks by developing adaptive strategies for preserving cultural practices and heritage sites and by designing climate-resilient infrastructure, guided by traditional knowledge, Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge and local knowledge systems;

Though not without compromise, COP28’s GGA replaced COP27's ‘tangible cultural heritage’ language with a broader focus on ‘cultural practices and heritage sites.’ This shift offers culture advocates a broad foundation for engagement. By linking cultural heritage protection to ‘climate-resilient infrastructure,’ the framework roots cultural heritage adaptation within finance and local, regional, and national adaptation plans.

Paragraph 9(g) enables us to urge governments at all levels to prioritise cultural heritage in adaptation planning. This provision also strengthens the case for resources to support climate adaptation within the cultural heritage sector, empowering institutions, NGOs, researchers, and public bodies to drive these efforts.

In Paragraph 14, the COP: Emphasises that adaptation action should be continuous, iterative and progressive and be based on and guided by the best available science, including through use of science-based indicators, metrics and targets, as appropriate, traditional knowledge, Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, local knowledge systems, ecosystem-based adaptation, nature-based solutions, locally led and community-based adaptation, disaster risk reduction, intersectional approaches, private sector engagement, maladaptation avoidance, recognition of adaptation co-benefits and sustainable development;

Reference here to maladaptation, which especially affects marginalised and vulnerable groups adversely, provides an important link to the break-through conclusion from IPCC Working Group II its 2022 report “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability” that “inclusive planning initiatives informed by cultural values, Indigenous knowledge, local knowledge, and scientific knowledge can help prevent maladaptation."

 GGA Paragraph 22: Recognizes the leadership of Indigenous Peoples and local communities as stewards of nature and encourages the ethical and equitable engagement with Indigenous Peoples and local communities and application of traditional knowledge, the knowledge, wisdom and values of Indigenous Peoples, and local knowledge systems in implementing the framework for the global goal on adaptation;

The crucial reference to “ethical and equitable engagement” in the GGA recalls the CHN 2022-24 Action Plan which include a goal of  “strengthen frameworks in which cultural actors and operators work as accomplices with Indigenous Peoples and local communities and build common cause with intersectional interests such as racial and gender equality, linking culture to climate justice in ways that bolster climate action and climate resilient sustainable development.”