Resolution 24 GA 8

UPDATING OF THE POLICY DOCUMENT ON CLIMATE ACTION FOR WORLD HERITAGE

The General Assembly,

1. Having examined Documents WHC/23/24.GA/8 and WHC/23/24.GA/INF.8,
2. Recalling Resolution 23 GA 11, adopted at its 23rd session (UNESCO, 2021),
3. Also recalling Decisions 40 COM 7, 41 COM 7, 42 COM 7, 43 COM 7.2, 44 COM 7C and 45 COM 7.1, adopted respectively at the 40th (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016), 41st (Krakow, 2017), 42nd (Manama, 2018), 43rd (Baku, 2019), extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) and extended 45th (Riyadh, 2023) sessions of the World Heritage Committee,
4. Thanking H.E. Ms Yvette Sylla (Madagascar) as elected Chairperson of the Open-ended Working Group established by the General Assembly at its 23rd session (UNESCO, 2021), Ms Carolina Diaz Acosta (Colombia) for her remarkable leadership in chairing meetings of the Open-ended Working Group, Australia, Colombia, Lebanon and Poland as Vice-Chairpersons, Ms Barbara Engels (Germany) as Rapporteur, and all members of the Working Group for the work accomplished,
5. Also thanking the States Parties of Australia, Azerbaijan and the Kingdom of the Netherlands for their generous financial support to the updating process of the 2007 “Policy Document on the impacts of Climate Change on World Heritage properties”, and expressing its gratitude to all stakeholders of the World Heritage Convention who contributed to this process,
6. Noting the rich debates that took place during the eight meetings of the Open-ended Working Group established by the General Assembly at its 23rd session (UNESCO, 2021) with the mandate to review and develop its final version taking into account Decision 44 COM 7C, as well as proposals for its effective implementation,
7. Emphasizing that, consistent with Article 18 of the 2017 UNESCO Declaration of Ethical Principles in relation to Climate Change, nothing in this non-binding Policy Document should be understood as an interpretation of any of the principles and provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and of the Paris Agreement adopted under it,
8. Adopts the 2023 “Policy Document on Climate Action for World Heritage”, as recommended by consensus by the Open-ended Working Group and contained in Document WHC/23/24.GA/INF.8;
9. Encourages the States Parties, the World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies and World Heritage-related Category 2 Centres to disseminate widely the "Policy Document on Climate Action for World Heritage” through appropriate means to the World Heritage community and the broader public, including in local languages, and to promote its implementation;
10. Recalls the World Heritage Committee’s requests, regarding the implementation of the Policy Document, addressed to the World Heritage Centre jointly with the Advisory Bodies, and within the available resources, to:
    1. Elaborate proposals for specific changes to the Operational Guidelines necessary to translate the principles of this Policy Document into actual operational procedures, and to develop education and capacity-building initiatives to enable a wide implementation of this Policy Document,
    2. Consider preparing a Guidance Document to facilitate effective implementation of, and support for, the actions, goals and targets of this Policy Document, which could include indicators and benchmarking tools for measuring and reporting progress towards achieving the World Heritage Climate Action Goals,

    provided the above be undertaken in consultation with States Parties;

11. Calls on States Parties to support the above-mentioned activities through extrabudgetary funding;
12. Recommends that States Parties and all stakeholders of the Convention integrate climate change mitigation and adaptation actions in risk preparedness policies and action plans, in order to protect the Outstanding Universal Value of all World Heritage properties, in line with the "Policy Document on Climate Action for World Heritage”;
13. Also recommends that World Heritage-related Category 2 Centres and UNESCO Chairs prioritize issues related to the implementation of the "Policy Document on Climate Action for World Heritage” within their capacity-building and research initiatives;
14. Requests the World Heritage Centre to present to the General Assembly, at its 26th session, a report on the progress made in the implementation of the Policy Document and the above provisions.