ACHP - Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
10/31/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/31/2024 11:27
ACHP and Georgetown University Law Center Host Conference on International Approaches to Climate Heritage
On October 4, 2024, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) hosted "U.S. Climate Heritage in the International Context," a one-day conference at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., co-organized by ACHP Chair Sara C. Bronin and Georgetown Climate Center Faculty Director and Professor of Law J. Peter Byrne. Co-sponsors of the event included Georgetown Climate Center, American Institute of Architects, Cornell Law School, and Cornell Center for Social Sciences.
Speakers from Indigenous nations, European and South American countries, and organizations from around the globe gathered to share information on how they are protecting their cultural heritage from climate change.
Chair Bronin said it was important to hear from these important thinkers about what their countries have learned from developing domestic policies to target the intersection of climate change and arts, culture, and heritage.
The keynote speaker was George Kremlis, chairman of the Greek Initiative at the United Nations level on protecting cultural and natural heritage from the impacts of climate change, and the former Principal Advisor to the Greek Prime Minister on energy, climate, environment and circular economy issues. He detailed the work being done in Greece to protect important cultural heritage sites, saying many of those sites are at risk of being lost. Kremlis said a U.N. initiative acknowledged the importance of the climate crisis on our cultural, natural, and intangible heritage. More than 100 countries, including the U.S., expressed support for the initiative, and there were some common themes in their feedback.
"They said holistic approaches are needed to protect heritage sites and make them resilient," Kremlis said. "They also indicated there should be more training, capacity-building expertise, and sharing of knowledge."
Chair Bronin said, in the U.S., the ACHP has taken action to improve the federal government's response to climate change, in recognition of the fact that climate change threatens historic and cultural resources and that historic buildings in particular can play a role in mitigating the impacts of climate change. She pointed to the ACHP's recently adopted policy statements on climate change and Indigenous Knowledge, as well as proposals to implement the recommendations in those statements, noting that the agency can and must do much more.
"There is an urgent need to respond," Chair Bronin said. "This is one of the most important topics in which preservationists should engage."
She suggested preservationists work together to refine and expand the ACHP's commitment to modernize domestic policies and practices, and that the ACHP work with the State Department to ensure the country leads at home as it does internationally in conversations about cultural heritage and climate change.
Reflecting on the conference, Chair Bronin said, "I am inspired to keep moving forward to make the U.S. an international leader in its domestic response to climate heritage, and I encourage people to join me in this effort. This conversation is not over."