UNESCO World Heritage in the Climate Crisis: What Can We Do?

As the climate crisis intensifies, both cultural and natural World Heritage sites face growing and unprecedented challenges. In response, the Heidelberg Center for Cultural Heritage (HCCH) and ICOMOS Germany will convene a high-level roundtable on 2 July 2025, bringing together scholars, policymakers, site managers and international partners to identify concrete avenues for action in the face of the growing impact of climate change on World Heritage.

The event, held in the historic Old Auditorium of Heidelberg University, will focus on the UNESCO Policy Document on Climate Action for World Heritage, adopted by the World Heritage General Assembly in 2023, with the official German translation to be presented on this occasion.

Through two thematic roundtables, participants will engage in an open dialogue on how to enhance the resilience of World Heritage sites and ensure that heritage protection becomes an integral part of global climate action efforts:

• The first roundtable will focus on policy and research perspectives, examining the document’s conceptual underpinnings and strategies for implementation across the fields of cultural and natural heritage conservation.
• The second will highlight experiences from the ground, with World Heritage site managers, sustainability networks and international organisations sharing concrete case studies and adaptive approaches.

The event aims to foster interdisciplinary exchange and identify practical pathways to integrate climate considerations into heritage management frameworks.

Registration:

Due to limited capacity, please register by 24 June 2025 via email: mailto:sekretariat@hcch.uni-heidelberg.de 

Livestream:

Access details will be shared: Here

Further information: Here