Risks relating to the protection of cultural heritage: From climate change to disasters

Abstract

Climate change is one of the major environmental challenges of the twenty-first century. This chapter analyses the different ways climate change threatens cultural heritage, and examines the policy and legal measures that have been adopted by the European Union to enhance the protection of the European cultural heritage from the consequences of the accelerating degradation of the global climate. Its aim is twofold. First, to demonstrate that the existing EU regulatory framework may permit, to a certain extent, to reduce exposure and vulnerability of cultural assets and to increase their resilience to the adverse impacts of the changing climate. Second, to signal that, however, the measures put in place are not entirely effective as they entail significant legal risks. This chapter argues that EU institutions, together with EU Member States, should strive to operationalize the principles of ‘common good’ and ‘sustainable development’ in order to transform the current piecemeal response to the climate change-related weather events and disasters that threaten the cultural heritage into a coherent and effective regulatory framework.