On behalf of Europa Nostra, the leading European heritage civil society network covering over 40 countries, and on behalf of the European Heritage Hub launched by the European Parliament, funded by the European Commission and supported by ALIPH, we applaud the organisation of the 2nd High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on Culture-based Climate Action, taking place in the framework of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
We especially commend and endorse the forceful speech delivered by the Special Envoy of the Climate Heritage Network and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, HRH Princess Dana Firas of Jordan. We are also grateful to Owen Bonnici, Minister of Culture of Malta, for his strong support for due inclusion of culture and cultural heritage in the final conclusions of COP29. Europa Nostra and the European Heritage Hub were represented at this high-level meeting by Andrew Potts, our Heritage and Climate Action Advisor, who is also the founder and key protagonist of the Climate Heritage Network.
The meeting in Baku is the result of the crucial work delivered so far by the Group of Friends on Culture-based Climate Action (GFCBCA) to put culture and cultural heritage at the heart of climate action. This advocacy group of national governments and knowledge partners was first established in 2023 in the framework of COP28 under the co-chairmanship of Brazil and the UAE. It has since achieved an outstanding feat, namely to include cultural heritage in the Global Goal on Adaptation.
Building further on the work of the Global Call to Put Cultural Heritage, Arts and the Creative Sectors at the Heart of Climate Action, Europa Nostra, lead European partner of the Climate Heritage Network, and also leader of the European Heritage Hub, is calling on the European Commission, EU Member States, and all other UNFCCC State Parties to take the necessary steps to ensure culture and cultural heritage can contribute fully to climate solutions. Concretely, together with the Climate Heritage Network and other knowledge partners of GFCBCA such as ICOMOS and ALIPH, we seek to include in the final conclusions of COP29 a request for the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies to hold a workshop related to culture and heritage before their 62nd session in Bonn in 2025. The deliberations of such a workshop would then form the basis for a broader consideration of culture at COP30 in Brazil next year.
Recalling that Europa Nostra was among the founding knowledge partners of the Group of Friends of Culture-based Climate Action, and recognising that a global movement of civil society and governments has been mobilised to this cause, as attested by the G7 Declaration and the G20 Declaration of Culture Ministers issued in recent weeks, and considering Paragraph 52 of the EU Council Conclusions on preparations for COP29, we are confident that a positive outcome will be achieved in Baku, also in the framework of UNFCCC. To unlock the transformative power of culture and cultural heritage for a scaling up climate action, WE MUST ACT TOGETHER NOW!
