Cultural heritage and climate change
Recommendation 2277
(2024)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text
adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of
the Assembly, on 24 May 2024 (see Doc. 15926, report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education
and Media, rapporteur: Mr Andries Gryffroy).
1. The Parliamentary Assembly, referring
to its
Resolution 2549
(2024) “Cultural heritage and climate change”, underlines
the compelling need for climate action and for a radical shift towards
carbon neutrality by 2050 to meet the ambition of the Paris Agreement
on climate change alongside the global aspiration for sustainable
development embodied in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development. These challenges require a deep transformation of society
and a fundamental change of mindset.
2. In this context, the Assembly welcomes the commitment the
heads of State and government made at the Reykjavik Summit in May
2023 to strengthen the work of the Council of Europe on the human
rights aspects of the environment based on the political recognition
of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as
a human right, as well as the decision to integrate a youth perspective
in the work of the Council of Europe.
3. In line with this global political agenda, the Council of
Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for
Society (CETS No. 199, “Faro Convention”) and the Council of Europe
Landscape Convention (ETS No. 176) place cultural and natural heritage
and culture in general at the centre of a new vision for sustainable
development.
4. For the Assembly, it is essential that all member States of
the Council of Europe include cultural heritage concerns in national
strategies for the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.
The Assembly considers that the Council of Europe should assist
this process when required.
5. Therefore, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
5.1 encourage transversal co-operation
of the culture, heritage, education and youth sectors in the field
of sustainable development and climate action, to support the implementation
of:
5.1.1 guiding principles for an integrated approach
to culture, nature and landscape management;
5.1.2 participatory governance models to involve the public,
and especially young people, in climate action and climate-related
decision-making processes, and build community resilience to climate
change;
5.2 develop further synergies with the European Union, the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) and international heritage institutions on evaluating the
impact of climate change on cultural heritage.
