Cultural voices from across the world are uniting once again at COP29, the annual UN Climate Conference, in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024.
History was made last year at COP28 in Dubai, UAE. Exactly one month after the launch of the Global Call to put Culture at the Heart of Climate Action, the ‘Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action’ was established at the first High-Level Ministerial Meeting on this topic. Over 30 Ministers or government representatives and a large delegation of committed cultural advocates from across the Globe attended the historic inaugural meeting, co-chaired by UAE and Brazil, recognising the key role of culture for transformative climate action.
The goal for COP29
The second High-Level Ministerial Meeting for Culture-Based Climate Action will take place at COP29 on 15 November 2024, from 13:00 – 14:30 (GMT+4), in Baku. This meeting is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan and the co-chairs of the Group of Friends, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates.
The Global Call campaign will be urging the Ministerial participants to take more concerted action towards tabling a Joint Work Decision at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, and achieving the ultimate goal of the Global Call Campaign: a UNFCCC Work Plan on Culture. Global Call signatories will be represented by HRH Princess Dana Firas of Jordan, the Climate Heritage Network’s Special Envoy to the Ministerial Dialogue. The European Heritage Hub, one of the main partners of the Global Call campaign, is represented at COP29 by Andrew Potts, Heritage and Climate Action Advisor at Europa Nostra, Project Leader of the Hub.
Ultimately, the Global Call campaign is seeking to have a cultural workshop request included in the final decisions taken at COP29. This short text would express a request by the COP that the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies hold workshops to consider issues related to culture and heritage before their 62nd session in Bonn in 2025. This is with the aim of exchanging views and the Conference of Parties adopting a decision on this matter at COP30 in Belém. The outcome of this workshop would then form the basis for a broader consideration of culture at COP30.
Culture events at COP29
Will you be at COP29 in Baku? If you are putting on or attending a culture or heritage event, please add it to this Culture @ COP29 events spreadsheet, so that those working in culture and heritage can support each other’s events at COP this year.
The Global Call to Action campaign has prepared some graphics that you can use to incorporate into your own designs to promote culture at COP. Visit the Global Call to Action Campaign Trello to access the social media toolkit.
About the Global Call to Action
We are calling on national governments’ climate negotiators assembling at COP, to put cultural heritage, arts and creative industries at the heart of climate action. Culture-led solutions that are inclusive, local as well as global, and focused on people and nature are already abundant. Yet in spite of this potential, culture has not been recognised formally in UNFCCC climate policy and planning.
Visit the Call updated website for information on the campaign, including reflections on COP28, an overview of the Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action, what to expect from COP29 in Baku, a roadmap to our goal of achieving a Joint Work Decision on Culture and Climate Action at COP30 in Belém (Brazil), and more.
We need as many individuals and organisations as possible to show support for this campaign. If you recognise culture’s power to unlock climate action, add your voice to the Global Call today!
© Cover image: ApexBrasil
