The Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, represented the Greek Government at COP29, the 2nd High Level Ministerial Dialogue on the Climate Crisis in Culture, which took place in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. In her intervention, Lina Mendoni noted that “given the rapid and intensifying effects of climate change, we must give priority to preventive action. We need to draw up climate vulnerability maps for current and future threats, tailored to each individual heritage site. This is what Greece did, for example, in our recent submission of our candidature to UNESCO for the inclusion of the Minoan Palaces in the World Heritage List. The compilation of these maps must be aligned with a jointly agreed methodology to ensure scientific credibility and to ensure that comparisons can be made“.

The Minister of Culture insisted on the need for international cooperation for the exchange of experiences and good practices, noting that much work has been done in this direction over the last year by the joint expert groups appointed by each state, from those participating in the High Level Ministerial Dialogue on the Climate Crisis in Culture. He pointed out that in several countries the dimension of the climate threat on cultural heritage is either absent from the respective National Adaptation Plans or not linked to the respective Ministries of Culture. “In Greece, we have organized three international meetings on the protection of cultural heritage from climate threats in the last three years, with participants from 12 countries of our wider region and the USA. Greece is ready to share its know-how and benefit from the experience of others”, Lina Mendoni noted and stressed “the importance of the ecological orientation of the cultural sector for the reduction of the carbon footprint of the cultural tourism sectors, as well as of culture and creativity. Of course, these sectors are largely made up of small businesses, which do not have much room for adaptability. Therefore, targeted approaches are needed to promote new sustainable business models, incorporating innovative technologies and production methods. Greening should refer to cultural infrastructures, i.e. museums, galleries, libraries and archives, and their gradual transformation into zero-balance facilities.“

Lina Mendoni had a working meeting with the Princess of Jordan and President of the Petra National Trust Dana Firas. The discussion focused on the recognition of the important role of culture in providing sustainable and effective proposals against climate change and the importance of coordinating joint actions on the threat it poses to all forms of cultural heritage. The four axes of joint actions, focusing on the Mediterranean countries, are based on reducing the impact of climate change on monuments and archaeological sites, the green transition for cultural infrastructure by reducing its carbon footprint, the promotion of environmentally friendly creative and cultural industries and the integration of knowledge systems for decision-making in the field of prevention.

In this direction, the Greek and Jordanian Ministries of Culture and the Petra National Trust will hold a joint seminar, aiming at the exchange of know-how, as well as cooperation in cultural educational programmes for children and young people, and in the field of preserving traditional art and handicrafts. Dana Firas emphatically stated that “Greece is a leader in cultural issues and initiatives to protect cultural heritage from climate change“.

The Minister of Culture of Greece had a working meeting with her Azerbaijani counterpart, Adil Karimli, whom she congratulated for the organization of COP29. The Azeri Minister highlighted the important work that Greece has done to protect cultural heritage from the devastating effects of the climate crisis, in the context of the international initiative undertaken by the Greek Government since 2019. At the core of the cooperation and development of bilateral cultural relations between the two countries are the protection, preservation and enhancement of cultural heritage including crafts and traditional practices, contemporary culture and creative and cultural industries.

In the margins of the Summit, the Minister of Culture had the opportunity to hold talks on bilateral issues with the Minister of Culture of the United Arab Emirates Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the Minister of National Heritage and Arts of Malta Owen Bonnici, Aruna Francesca Maria Gujral, Director General of ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Protection and Restoration of Cultural Heritage), of which Greece is an active member through the Ministry of Culture, and Salim Mohammed A. Almalik, Director General of ICESCO (Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

After the conclusion of the 2nd High Level Ministerial Dialogue on the Climate Crisis based on Culture, Lina Mendoni, accompanied by the Ambassador of Greece to Azerbaijan, Christos Kapodistrias, visited the Greek Booth at COP29, where more than 45 events took place, with the participation of heads of state, ministers and government officials from dozens of countries, as well as academics, representatives of companies and civil society. At the Greek pavilion, the Ministry of Culture organised a special event on “Protecting Cultural Heritage from the Impacts of Climate Change: Challenges and Good Practices”. The event was attended by Princess Dana Firas of Jordan, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Cultural Heritage, World Monument Fund Director for Adaptation Meredith Wiggins, Konstantinos Kartalis, Professor at the University of Athens and member of the European Union Scientific Committee on Climate Change, and Sofia Spyropoulou, Archaeologist at the Ministry of Culture. The discussion highlighted the need for proactive action to protect archaeological sites and monuments from the impacts of climate change, the use of scientific knowledge to assess the vulnerability and risks of cultural heritage, the lack of expertise in several countries, the limited integration of the cultural dimension in National Adaptation Plans to Climate Change, as well as the limited participation of local communities in the preparation of Adaptation Plans. In terms of good practices, the need to link natural and cultural heritage, the use of new tools (climate models, digital applications), the integration of local and traditional practices in Adaptation Plans, and the contribution of the cultural and creative sectors to the green transition were highlighted. Finally, the cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Climate Crisis of Greece for the preventive protection of 50 archaeological sites from forest fires was presented as a good practice, as well as the structure and objectives of the digital platform of the Ministry of Culture for the assessment of climate risks for archaeological sites and monuments at the national level.