CyI research on the impacts of Climate Change on Cultural Heritage was presented at the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB62) in Bonn, Germany by Professor Nikolas Bakirtzis (STARC). Prof. Bakirtzis was invited to contribute to the expert panel titled “Cultural Heritage-based Climate Solutions” that took place on the 17th of June by the Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action (GFCBCA), co-chaired by the Ministry of Culture of Brazil and the Minister of Culture of the United Arab Emirates.

 

The panel addressed how cultural heritage and Indigenous knowledge systems can help envision and realize low carbon, resilient futures, highlighting the essential role of culture in meaningful and inclusive collective climate action. The panel’s theme is framed under the Global Goal on Adaptation (Decision 2/CMA.5 para 9(g)), and the strategy of the Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action to advance culture’s place in multilateral climate negotiations during the SB62 events and meetings.

 

Prof. Bakirtzis addressed the need for new methodological approaches to the climate crisis placing communities at the center of our efforts. He discussed the notable disconnect between scientific and humanities/social sciences approaches and methodologies, proposing the urgency for new paradigms for interdisciplinary collaboration that can enhance our views towards a more nuanced and holistic approach to cultural heritage, one with a focus on local communities. Focusing on the frameworks of cultural landscapes and living monuments he discussed instructive examples from the Eastern Mediterranean, specifically from the islands of Chios and Cyprus addressing the socioeconomic and cultural complexities of their insular localities. Work on the broader theme on the impacts of Climate Chance on Cultural Landscape is the focus of the Task Force on Cultural Heritage of the Eastern Mediterranean & Middle East Climate Change Initiative (EMME-CCI) which is a regional effort spearheaded by the Republic of Cyprus and scientifically led by the Cyprus Institute to address climate change challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East region. In the context of the Task Force, the Cyprus Institute has been working closely with the Cyprus Department of Antiquities to properly address the challenge for Cyprus and the broader region.

 

Led by the Ministers of Culture of Brazil and the UAE, the Group of Friends for Culture based Climate Action at the UNFCCC (GFCBCA) was founded at COP28, at the first ever high-level dialogue of ministers of culture at any COP. Over the last two years, membership has grown from 22 parties to over 50 who share a commitment to international cooperation and collective advocacy for a more robust anchoring of culture in international climate change policy. Cyprus is participating in the GFCBCA with its Deputy Ministry of Culture. Working towards the first ever Work Program on Culture-based Climate Action at the UNFCCC, the GFCBCA calls for the recognition of the contributions of the entire culture and cultural heritage sector (from arts and creative industries to traditional and Indigenous knowledge systems into climate action) to climate action – in addition to protecting heritage from climate change impacts, we must acknowledge the context-based climate-responsive knowledge that they hold and the valuable role the culture sector plays in both adaptation and mitigation by mobilizing collective climate action as storytellers and amplifiers of culture and cultural heritage-based climate solutions. Therefore, inclusive, people-centric, just, and ethical climate action that can only meet the goals of the Paris Accord with the recognition of culture.