UN-recognized campaign Heritage Adapts! launches to accelerate climate adaptation for heritage by 2030
WASHINGTON, June 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Heritage Adapts! launches today as the first global campaign uniting the heritage sector behind a shared mission: at least 3,000 sites and practices taking locally led climate adaptation action by 2030. Spearheaded by a coalition led by Preserving Legacies, an initiative supported by the National Geographic Society, it mobilizes local stewards behind a collective pledge and equips them with the technical guidance, localized data access, and global connections to help them succeed. Recognized under the U.N.'s Global Climate Action Agenda as one of 120 promising climate delivery plans, Heritage Adapts! demonstrates how protecting heritage can strengthen community resilience.
The launch of Heritage Adapts! comes as climate risks to heritage continue to grow. Climate-related hazards across UNESCO-designated sites have increased 40% in a decade, and more than one in four could hit potentially irreversible tipping points by 2050, according to a recent UNESCO report. But this data covers only a fraction of the world's heritage; most sites and practices that communities value remain untracked by international frameworks. That gap is itself part of the problem. Heritage adaptation also still remains largely absent from climate finance and policy, leaving many stewards with limited funding and support. Yet heritage is not just at risk— it is part of the solution, a source of community resilience and time-tested solutions relevant today.
Heritage Adapts! — with its founding coalition of more than 100 organizations and stewards globally — aims to fill that gap and accelerate climate adaptation for all types of heritage.
"As the world hurtles toward 2 degrees Celsius of warming, we are in a race to help communities—and the culture and heritage that sustain them—adapt while there is still time. The U.N.'s new Global Goal on adapting cultural heritage can be transformative, but only if it fuels real support for every site and cultural practice. Around the world, partners are uniting to urgently seize this moment. That shared resolve is the driving force behind Heritage Adapts!" - Andrew Potts, Policy Director, Preserving Legacies
At its core is an online community of action platform built around a self-paced program through every stage of adaptation, making the process accessible no matter the starting point.
"By providing heritage stewards with a platform to share knowledge, learn and support each other, Heritage Adapts! will help safeguard the irreplaceable heritage places and practices of communities in every corner of the globe. This effort aligns beautifully with the National Geographic Society's mission to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world. Protecting our world's heritage sites from climate change is not an endeavor any single community or nation can tackle on their own. By uniting science with local wisdom, the Heritage Adapts! initiative is ensuring that we will go far together, safeguarding our shared human history for generations to come." - Ian Miller, Chief Science and Innovation Officer, National Geographic Society
"This initiative is critical because culture and heritage connect communities to their identity, land, history, and future. They shape how people understand risk, respond to change, and build resilience. As emphasized during COP30, climate action begins and ends with people, and culture is one of the most powerful tools for lasting change. This initiative demonstrates the strengths of the climate action agenda and its alignment with the global goal on adaptation as a platform for multi-stakeholder collaboration and implementation." - Dan Ioschpe, COP 30 Climate High-Level Champion
Join the community and start adapting at act.heritageadapts.org.
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