NEMO welcomes the Group and the step towards recognising culture as a driving force in climate action and climate change policy. Particularly after signing and sharing the Global Call to Put Cultural Heritage, Arts and Creative Sectors at the Heart of Climate Action that was launched in the weeks leading up to COP28 and has gotten nearly 1,500 signatures. In response to the launch of the new Group, cultural voices drawn from the signatories of the Global Call have issued a “Statement of Support for the Launch at COP28 of the new Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action.”
At the launch event on 8 December, Margareth Menezes, Minister of Culture (Brazil) said “culture is not only a victim, culture is a strength that needs to be utilised to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement.”
The Group of Friends is launched under the co-chairmanship of the United Arab Emirates and Brazil, hosts of COP28 and COP30 respectively, and is a key step towards realising the ambitions of artists, culture and heritage advocates, professionals and volunteers, scientists, and other cultural voices from across the world who have united ahead of COP28 around the Global Call.
Review below the main goals the international coalition of UN Member States aimed at building political momentum for the recognition of culture as a uniquely powerful force in climate change policy, and learn more in a press release.
- Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action (GFCBCA) formed to confront the threat climate change poses to cultural sites, traditional practices, and indigenous knowledge systems.
- Co-Chairs UAE and Brazil to promote international consensus on the urgency of including culture in climate change policy for unprecedented inclusivity in global climate action.
- As a coalition, countries seek to advocate for culture-based solutions to climate crisis at COP28 and to provide a voice in climate discussion for behaviour change.
