ERRIN's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Working Group tackles climate change through heritage-led action
On 30 April 2025, the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Working Group (WG) hosted an insightful in-person meeting at the ERRIN premises under the theme 'Combatting Climate Change for Protecting Cultural Heritage'. The session brought together prominent voices from across Europe and beyond to address one of the most pressing global challenges: the impact of climate change on cultural heritage, and how heritage itself can be a powerful tool for climate action.
The meeting opened with warm welcomes from WG co-leaders Katinka Remoe and Lorna Murphy, setting the tone for a dynamic and collaborative discussion. The first part of the session offered a comprehensive overview of the current global, European, and national landscapes, with speakers highlighting how cultural heritage is increasingly integrated into climate policy.
UNESCO presented the international state of play, emphasising the growing threats of climate change to both tangible and intangible heritage and the need to harness culture in climate strategies. The upcoming Mondiacult 2025 World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development, to be held in Barcelona from 29 September to 1 October 2025, was highlighted as a key opportunity to advance global cooperation on culture and sustainability.
Ana-Maria Stan from the European Commission introduced the candidate co-funded European Partnership on Resilient Cultural Heritage, which will focus on addressing climate change impacts on cultural heritage, supporting research and innovation to safeguard both tangible and intangible assets in line with EU cultural and environmental goals.
Johanna Leissner, Chair of the EU OMC Group, followed with an in-depth update on Member States' actions since the publication of the 2022 report – Strengthening Cultural Heritage Resilience for Climate Change. She noted tangible progress in several countries while also identifying persistent challenges in implementation, funding and cross-sector alignment.
The second half of the session shifted focus to practical, regionally grounded initiatives. These included the HeriTACE project, a Horizon Europe initiative addressing the deep energy renovation of heritage buildings, and efforts in Saxony-Anhalt’s Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz to preserve a UNESCO World Heritage Site through flood management and improved water supply. The meeting concluded with two further case studies: a traditional house restoration and local regeneration project in Piatra-Neamț, Romania and the retrofit of Holyrood Park Lodge in Scotland, which highlighted the integration of traditional building techniques into modern energy efficiency efforts.
This meeting marked a critical step forward in advancing the dialogue on how cultural heritage can be both protected from and mobilised against climate change.
The final presentation from the event is available for ERRIN members in the attachment of this news. Please note that you must be logged in to see the attachment.
Learn more about Climate change and cultural heritage
You can read more about this topic in the report 'Strengthening Cultural Heritage resilience for climate change: where the European Green Deal meets Cultural Heritage'. It summarises the work of the EU Open Method of Coordination (OMC) group of Member States’ experts on ‘Strengthening cultural heritage resilience for climate change’. It is based on the discussions and information, provided and approved by the members of the OMC expert group in the meetings during 2021–2022 in addition to presentations given by the invited external experts.
- Dubravka Jurišić
- 07/05/2025