45 CLOSING REMARKS Paolo Vitti Board member of Europa Nostra and Professor at the University of Notre Dame This round table offered a unique opportunity for discussion among six people who are passionate about culture and cultural heritage. Their approaches to the three questions show there are numerous ways in which cultural heritage can play a role in climate action. Each of them brings their experience and knowledge into the discussion, and they thus demonstrate that culture has multiple ways to interact with human beings and to be “used.” Culture and cultural heritage can retain past knowledge and memories (tangible and intangible); generate new perceptions; allow interpretation of an articulated and multifaceted reality; stimulate changes in behaviour and open to new horizons (not always positive ones). In climate action we need all of this, particularly in the context of urban realities, where human interaction is particularly complex. We need thus to approach the topic of culture and climate change from different points of view. Each of the speakers brought something to think about: sometimes – I would say – positions were in contrast, apart from the first question, where everybody agreed on the fact that climate actions are a matter of both individual and collective responsibility. I would like to start these short closing remarks with a contribution we received from one of the virtual attendees, from Turkey. He pointed out that there is a human drama that is happening as a consequence of climate change. This drama is connected to the massive transfer of people to the cities. Megacities will need to face concrete problems to address the needs of an ever-growing population, while the countryside will be more and more abandoned. What could the role of cultural heritage and culture in addressing this emergency be? To answer this question, we might refer to Pope Francis, who said that human and environmental crises are one and the same thing. We cannot think about environmental and climate crises without considering their impact on human beings. My perception is that the current narrative excludes culture and cultural heritage because they are perceived as ancillary to the key actions that will be needed to solve the emergency. However, if we take into consideration the powerful message offered by the encyclical Laudato si’, we understand that culture is a fundamental component, because it shapes behaviours. Discussing the effects of climate change without considering the
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