Demonstrating solutions to protect and preserve cultural heritage from the impacts of climate change

Expected Outcome:

In line with the EU Adaptation Strategy and the objectives of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, successful proposals will support the preservation of cultural heritage (moveable, immoveable and natural with cultural significance) under a changing climate. Project results are expected to contribute to all the following outcomes:

• Innovative solutions for protecting and preserving cultural heritage from the impacts of climate change have been demonstrated and are made widely available for upscaling and deployment across the European Union and beyond. This includes nature-based solutions.
• Regional and local authorities hosting cultural heritage are better prepared to preserve it under a changing climate.
• Relevant stakeholders – including heritage scientists and managers, climate scientists, regional and local policymakers, civil society and representatives from the tourism industry – have co-created and put in place climate-resilient solutions. Citizens and local communities have also been engaged in the process.

Scope:

Rationale

As the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent, economic losses associated with it are also increasing. However, not all impacts can be quantified economically. This is the case of cultural heritage, which is particularly threatened by climate change but requires dedicated solutions due to its own specificities. Cultural heritage is a key priority for adaptation in the COP28 UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience but has not been addressed by the Mission so far. This is why this action aims to identify and demonstrate solutions that protect and preserve cultural heritage from climate impacts. This topic focuses on tangible (movable and immovable) heritage, and natural heritage with cultural significance.

Innovative and effective solutions are needed to help cultural heritage managers and local communities to prepare the cultural heritage sites, structures, and artefacts against the climate impacts, in a way that safeguards their cultural and historical integrity and acknowledges the importance they hold for present and future generations.

Solutions sought

Proposals should identify, test and demonstrate innovative solutions to protect and preserve cultural heritage from the impacts of climate change and identify possible trade-offs and co-benefits.

The solutions may address different aspects of heritage protection and preservation such as, but not limited to, innovative environmental assessment methodologies, monitoring technologies and systems, (green) conservation and restoration techniques^[1], risk management and disaster prevention, etc. All of the following aspects should be considered:

• The solutions are expected to be co-designed by all the relevant stakeholders and to engage citizens.
• When relevant, nature-based solutions should be explored as a priority
• The solutions should consider the potential interactions and compound effects of different hazards.
• Careful consideration is necessary to avoid maladaptation.

This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities

Demonstration sites and related activities

The Mission encourages collaborations between regional and local authorities facing similar challenges and considers this to be a very efficient approach to secure a large impact. Therefore, the demonstration activities of the proposals:

• Must take place in the territory of at least 3 different regional or local authorities that host cultural heritage, each established in a different Member State or Associated Country, with the involvement of these regional or local authorities and of relevant heritage managers (preferably participating in the consortium as a beneficiary or associated partner).
• Should already identify at least 3 replicating regional or local authorities from 3 different Member States or Associated Countries, interested in reapplying the lessons learnt (totally, partially or with the required adjustments) in their territories. For the replication, the consortium could include one or more partners that would provide support for the technical exchanges and the knowledge uptake in the replicating” regions or local authorities. Replicating regions are not necessarily expected to carry out on the ground activities already in the course of the project. However, replicating regions should at least prepare the theoretical framework for replicating the successful solutions and explore means to fund the implementation of those solutions.

Links to the Mission and to other projects and initiatives

Proposals should build (when relevant) on existing knowledge and adaptation solutions developed by previous projects^[2] and explore synergies with ongoing projects^[3] from EU and national programmes, like the European Partnership for Resilient Cultural Heritage and the Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage and Global Change.

Synergies with other funding sources (EU and national) are encouraged to identify opportunities to scale up the solutions demonstrated and to foster their broad deployment across Europe through other programmes.

Proposals should include a mechanism and the resources to establish operational links and collaboration with the Mission Implementation Platform (including on monitoring). Projects funded under this topic will be expected to participate in the Mission Community of Practice and to share relevant knowledge to feed the work of the project stemming from HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-02. Proposals are encouraged to (dedicate resources to) link their monitoring to the framework developed by the project UNDERPIN.

Applicants should acknowledge these elements and already account for them in their proposal, making adequate provisions in terms of resources and budget to engage and collaborate with the Mission.

[1] a green conservation approach is minimally harmful to the environment and humans. Aligning with the circular economy, green conservation is decarbonizing, zero-waste, accessible, and available. (GoGreen)

[2] Topics from Horizon Europe’s cluster 2 that are particularly relevant include : HORIZON-CL2-2021-HERITAGE-01-01; HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-08; HORIZON-CL2-2023-HERITAGE-01-01,. as well as European Heritage Hub

[3] See for example, EU’s disaster risk management-related capacity building projects.