Culture and the environment are seemingly poles apart, but what about when seen through the lens of the climate crisis?

Climate impacts permeate all sectors, including culture. Natural heritage, the livelihoods of people operating within the cultural and creative sector (CCS), cultural tourism, oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, etc. across the globe are all severely impacted and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Yet, they remain largely absent from environmental discourse, including Assessment Reports and Key- Frameworks, such as the Paris Agreement, whereas the CCS is among the most underrepresented and unexplored sectors in terms of environmental discourse and action.

According to the European Green Deal, participation in environmental decision-making is not only a fundamental right, but rather a necessity for transitioning to sustainability. A transition that necessitates the meaningful participation of all societal actors, since regardless of our degree of vulnerability, climate change impacts affect us all.

UNESCO’s 2022 Global Report “Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity” offers a novel approach on the interplay of forces between climate change and culture, instating culture’s inclusion in climate action and its integration into national climate change policies and strategies amongst UNESCO’s top priorities globally.

Public bodies in Germany, Austria, and the UK, are among the pioneers in developing and implementing cohesive strategies aimed at mobilizing CCS to respond to the climate crisis. However, smaller institutions operating within the European cultural and creative sector often lack the capacity, resources, and technical expertise to devise and implement such strategies. Despite great initiatives (e.g., Europeana Climate Action Community, European Heritage Hub), further collaboration and research (data) are needed, to identify the field-specific gaps, needs, and barriers, and develop the necessary solutions for fostering transformative change.

CoRES is a revolutionary project aiming to offer tangible solutions to barriers faced by the CCS for transitioning to more environmentally responsive practices. The project is supported by the European Union and the Deputy Ministry of Culture in Cyprus, implemented by AKTI Project and Research Centre, Cyprus, in collaboration with RUNONART, Greece, and Studio 18, Malta. It aims to bring together key-stakeholders in the cultural, creative, and environmental fields across Europe, to identify the gaps, needs, and barriers and co-design the solutions to support the sector’s risk preparedness and resilience to climate change.

CoRES is founded on the principle that climate change mitigation requires an accelerated approach at a whole-society and systems level, facilitating a multi- dimensional perspective, where the green dimension is at the centre of all aspects of life. It aims to highlight how the inclusion of diverse perspectives in the development of solutions to the pressing climate crisis can lead to more inclusive decision-making processes and policies, accelerate progress towards the SDGs, and support the sector’s competitiveness and economic potential. CoRES, thus, advocates for a structural green transformation at all levels, rooted in Principle Two of the UN’s SDGs Universal Values and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - ‘Leave No One Behind’ (LNOB); an inclusive and just green transition where current environmental challenges are transformed into opportunities for all. 

Interested in the work for CoRES? You can join forces! Reach out: [email protected]