Cultural heritage is both impacted by climate change and an important part of strategies for driving climate action.  So, where does the cultural heritage community stand now in terms of engaging on climate change, where do we want to go and how do we get there?  The USA’s Smithsonian Institution is putting the focus squarely on these urgent questions at a two-day symposium entitled ‘Stemming the Tide: Global Strategies for Sustaining Cultural Heritage Through Climate Change.’ The event will be held 5-6 March 2020 in Washington, DC.

There’s no just transition — no carbon transformation — without human creativity, heritage values, social license and cultural capital. Arts, culture and heritage offer immense potential to drive climate action in cities and regions and support equitable transitions towards low carbon, climate resilient development.

The newly formed Climate Heritage Network released its first action plan to help mobilise arts, culture and heritage for climate action at an event held in Madrid at COP25, the 2019 UN Climate Summit. Dubbed the Madrid-to-Glasgow Arts, Culture and Heritage Climate Action Plan, its release kicks off a year of culture-based climate action that will culminate in 2020 at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Organisations across the arts, culture and heritage sector are being called on to take urgent action against climate change as a new international network launches in Edinburgh today (Thursday 24 Oct, 2019) at an event hosted by Historic Environment Scotland (HES).