Heritage and Climate Injustice

The concept of “climate (in)justice” is a framework to address various forms of injustices and disparities exacerbated by climate change, deeply rooted in histories of colonialism, development, and industrialization. This framework reveals how climate change impacts human rights, including health, water, food, education, housing, and an adequate standard of living, disproportionately affecting communities that contribute the least to the problem. These impacts extend to both tangible and intangible cultural heritage, highlighting the urgent need for a comprehensive exploration of the connections between cultural heritage and climate injustice. “Loss and damage” is a key policy concept, addressing unmanaged risks associated with climate change impacts, yet it remains largely unaddressed, particularly in low- and middle-income counties and small island developing states. These regions experience significant losses in local and cultural knowledge, homes, and culturally significant places with disproportionate impacts on Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Examples from Pacific small island states and the African context illustrate how climate change leads to the displacement of communities, loss of traditional knowledge, and damage to heritage sites. In addition to these international disparities, it is vital to have an intersectional approach in understanding climate injustice, as it shapes interactions with land, nature, and cultural heritage. The complexities of climate injustice, rooted in global power imbalances, demand more than scientific and policy responses; they require integrating diverse knowledge systems, especially indigenous and local knowledge. Heritage emerges as a dynamic resource for navigating the challenges of climate change, connecting communities to their past, present, and future, despite the existing gap in heritage research on these issues.