A community for safeguarding cultural heritage from climate change
Go2CHANGE COST Action is a global network aimed at addressing the significant vulnerabilities of cultural heritage sites and their communities in the face of climate change.
The Network seeks to develop locally adaptable climate action strategies that respect the integrity and authenticity of cultural heritage while aligning with local contexts. The Network focuses on four key areas: climate risk assessment, climate change adaptation, climate change mitigation, and community involvement. These issues are explored through Urban Living Labs (ULLs) in selected heritage cities, which serve as case studies and test beds for co-creating climate resilient strategies.
Objectives
Explore what are the most effective methodologies and approaches for developing a locally adaptable strategic framework for climate action plans aimed at preserving cultural heritage sites.
01
Develop Methodologies
Identify and develop methodologies to evaluate the values of cultural heritage properties at risk due to current and projected climate hazards.
02
Create place-based mechanisms
Create place-based mechanisms to integrate cultural heritage risk management into existing heritage management frameworks and local climate risk management systems.
03
Technological Intervention
Integrate appropriate technological interventions to reduce GHG emissions in built heritage while preserving their values.
Go2CHANGE Networks adopts a people-centered, place-based approach, engaging interdisciplinary experts and local stakeholders, including communities, heritage managers, and municipalities. Go2CHANGE aims to develop methodologies for assessing cultural heritage at risk, integrating heritage risk management into broader climate frameworks, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in heritage conservation, and enhancing social resilience through community involvement.
Urban Living Lab
Heritage Cities
Establish and manage Urban Living Lab Heritage Cities to serve as experimental environments for developing locally adaptable strategic frameworks for climate action. These ULLs will act as sandboxes for creating evidence-based practices and facilitating a co-creation process with local stakeholders to protect heritage sites and their communities from climate change related hazards.
2026 Host City: Bamberg
In the first year, the ULL will be hosted by the Town of Bamberg, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The main aims are:
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Operationalising and integrating climate action into the Management Plan of the World Heritage Property “Town of Bamberg”
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Enhancing the communication of climate action to professional stakeholders and the broader public.
The Bamberg ULL contributes to the overall Go2CHANGE objectives through the following local goals:
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Identify and assess climate risks and vulnerabilities of World Heritage attributes in Bamberg
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Integrate climate adaptation and climate risk management into existing World Heritage management
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Identify mitigation measures for the World Heritage property that reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions while preserving heritage values
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Strengthen community involvement and capacity building, transforming local knowledge and practices into climate resilience actions
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Generate transferable lessons and best practices to feed into the Go2CHANGE network, policy briefs, and guidance documents.
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2026 UNESCO World Heritage City
Bamberg Germany
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