Call to Action: Culture at the Heart of Climate Action

Artists and cultural voices from across the world are uniting to call for climate negotiators at COP UN Climate Conference to put cultural heritage, arts and creative industries at the heart of climate action. We are asking for a ground-breaking ‘Joint Work Decision on Culture and Climate Action’, a UN process which would trigger policies and frameworks to enable culture to contribute fully to climate solutions.

Culture is a powerful force that shapes all of our lives, wherever we are in the world. Yet despite its potential, culture has not been integrated into climate policy and planning. Culture-led solutions that are inclusive, local as well as global, and focused on people and nature are already abundant.

Cultural heritage, including traditional knowledge, strengthens resilience, helps communities to adapt to climate impacts, protects places, and offers green, circular and regenerative solutions. The arts speak to hearts and minds, inspiring action and helping us to understand climate change through storytelling and shared experiences. The creative industries - design, music, fashion and film - shape our lifestyles, tastes and consumption patterns.

To strengthen global climate action, we must urgently harness the extraordinary potential of cultural heritage, arts and creative sectors to help people imagine and realise low-carbon, just, climate-resilient futures.

DutchCulture supports the global call to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to include cultural heritage, the arts and creative sectors in climate policy. If you recognise culture as an indispensable pillar of climate action, sign up to support the campaign as well, and share it with your networks and communities.