U.N.'s climate change conference COP30 expands arts, culture agenda in Brazil
Expanded programming on heritage and creative sectors reflects Brazil’s push to integrate culture into global climate discussions.
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Culture has emerged prominently within the official programming of this year’s COP30, the United Nations’ conference for climate change negotiations, which is underway in Brazil.
Brazil, which is hosting this year’s edition of the annual meeting of world leaders and scientists in the city of Belém in the Amazon, has listed several workshops, dialogues and capacity-building sessions dedicated to cultural heritage and the role of the arts in climate action.
While culture has historically remained peripheral to the United Nations climate negotiations, the COP30 schedule shows a notable expansion of events reflecting such themes.
The Brazilian Ministry of Culture has also formally tied culture to the COP30 agenda. In a statement released ahead of the summit, the ministry said it is participating in COP30 “to highlight the role of culture in global climate action.”
The ministry said culture is included in the COP30 presidency’s Action Agenda under its human and social development theme, where Brazil added a specific objective linking cultural heritage to climate action. Culture Minister Margareth Menezes said, “the green transformation must also be a cultural transformation.”
Sessions listed for this year’s summit include a workshop on “Cultural Heritage and Adaptation to Climate Change,” a panel titled “Cultural Power for Climate Action: Storytelling, Heritage & the Creative Industries,” and multiple events linking culture to climate finance, capacity-building and sustainable development.
On Tuesday, conference delegates were invited to gather for a session titled “Cultural Power for Climate Action: Storytelling, Heritage & the Creative Industries,” which focuses on how cultural expression and communication intersect with climate action.
Then on Thursday, the schedule includes a “Workshop on Cultural Heritage and Adaptation to Climate Change,” focusing on how heritage and climate impacts relate to one another.
A separate event Thursday highlights the growing interest in linking “the arts, technology and culture” with 17 global goals adopted by all U.N. member states in 2015 under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Next week, the schedule features a capacity-building session titled “Culture as Climate Infrastructure: Building Capacity and Financing Climate Solutions,” which frames culture as part of the systems that support community resilience.
And another event co-hosted by the British Council and the International National Trusts Organization next week addresses “Culture at the Heart of Climate Policy and Action.”
In addition to these events, cultural heritage and Indigenous knowledge appear through the activities of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, which is holding roundtables and dialogues on cultural stewardship. LCIPP is the main U.N. mechanism for elevating Indigenous cultural perspectives within the climate process.
Art of Change 21, the Paris-based nonprofit that works at the intersection of art and ecology, is also positioning COP30 as a watershed moment for cultural engagement in global climate efforts.
In a statement on its COP30 portal, the group says the Belém summit represents “the official entry of culture into the COP agenda,” arguing that the Brazilian city creates a unique context for connecting climate action to cultural expression and heritage.
The organization is coordinating “United Artists for Climate” with the Brazilian arts residency Labverde, supporting eight Brazilian and Indigenous artists whose work will be presented in Belém and online during the summit.
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Art of Change 21 said the initiative aims to amplify the voices of artists committed to environmental issues, framing creative practice as a vehicle for public engagement and climate communication.
“Culture is now on the official COP30 agenda – a true victory for Art of Change 21, which has been present at every Climate COP since 2015!” Alice Audouin, the founder and president of Art of Change 21, said in a statement.
“With United Artists for Climate, we are, for the first time, mobilizing artists for climate action on an unprecedented scale, in partnership with Brazil’s most emblematic actor in the field, Labverde.”
The prominence reflects both the priorities of Brazil’s COP30 presidency and the growing international recognition that cultural heritage and creative expression play in climate resilience, especially for Indigenous and frontline communities, but also the role it plays in diplomacy in general.
Running just after COP30 ends, many world leaders and diplomats in attendance at the climate change summit are expected to dash to Johannesburg for the G20 summit, which focuses on trade and the global economy, where host presidency South Africa has also prioritized culture.
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