16 THE FRAMEWORK: URBAN AGENDA FOR THE EU resilience, transformation and adaptive reuse of cultural heritage and the contribution of the cultural and creative sectors to urban regeneration. Action 9: Towards an Observatory on Culture/Cultural Heritage and Climate Change Action 9 addresses culture and cultural heritage in relation to climate change in the urban framework, in the perspective of the establishment of a European Observatory on the matter. The action is led by the Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the Fondazione Scuola dei beni e delle attività culturali. Members of this Action reflect the composition of the partnership and include cities, regions, the European Commission, JRC - Joint Research Centre, URBACT, ICLEI; the two European coordinators support the activities. In the year 2020, when the Action Plan was developed, we were confronted not only with clear information on the risks caused by climate change for people and the environment in various areas of our planet, but also with increasing evidence of how climate change could affect cultural heritage via floods, fires, drought, coastal erosion, humidity, parasites etc. A main source of inspiration for the Action were SDGs 11 and 13 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The European Green Deal had just been launched in December 2019 as an ambitious sustainable growth strategy: we realised that it did not explicitly mention culture and cultural heritage. However, we were convinced that culture and cultural heritage were not only deeply affected by climate change but could also contribute to addressing it by providing solutions, inspiration and behavioural change: the Europa Nostra Green Paper later effectively demonstrated the articulation of cultural heritage with the Green Deal. The Action was aimed, therefore, at analysing the feasibility and usefulness of a think-thank organisation, or a formally established Observatory, aimed at contributing to achieving that culture and cultural heritage benefit by the instruments put in place by the European Green Deal; preventing risks of possible cultural heritage loss in the renovation wave needed to achieve energy efficiency; exploring the potential of culture and cultural heritage in supporting climate action and transitions to sustainable development; and to promoting the adoption by urban authorities of integrated adaptation plans that include culture and cultural heritage.
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