A/75/298 63. The environment has always shaped human cultures. In the Anthropocene, human cultural practices also shape the environment and can do so for good or ill. Cultural rights are central to the choices we make in this regard. IV. Positive potential of culture, cultural heritage and cultural rights to enhance responses to climate change 64. Cultures and cultural rights are not only potential casualties of climate change. They are also part of the solution, and offer a set of crucial tools for implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. 107 Indeed, they are vital for enabling the necessary societal transformation called for by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to meet the 1.5°C degree target. The Panel defines resilience as “the ability of a social or ecological system to absorb disturbances while retaining the same basic structure and ways of functioning, the capacity of self -organization, and the capacity to adapt to stress and change.” 108 The exercise of cultural rights in accordance with international standards is necessary to achieve such resilience in the face of climate change vulnerabilities. Resilience is ingrained in many aspects of cultural life, and in artistic and cultural practice. 65. Culture can help humanity explore the different scenarios previewed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in safe ways so as to make the best choices among them. “Culture and climate change: scenarios” was a project launched at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Paris in 2015. 109 The project uses art to start public conversations about future climate scenarios. According to those involved, “the arts and humanities support a fuller understanding of what it means to craft shared futures with others through ‘conscious social transformations’, or indeed to ‘make and unmake futures that impact on all life on this planet’” 110 “Culture allows us to reimagine the world.” 111 Moreover, culture also determines how people respond to adaptation. 66. “Climate change cannot be addressed exclusively through technical and technological measures, but rather requires an approach that encompasses human beliefs, values and behaviour” 112 It requires coordinated and transversal efforts that include the cultural sector along with many others. 113 It is argued in the Culture 21 Actions toolkit, adopted by the United Cities and Local Governments in 2015, that “culture influences our understanding of the environment and our relationship with it on a deep level … People modify the ecosystems around them through cultural practices, values and visions of the world.” 114 Hence, the global response to climate change should likewise be inspired by cultural values and strengthened through cultural practices, in close coordination with efforts in other areas. 67. Cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and creativity are climate assets and should be recognized as such. Arts, culture and heritage are sources of creativity and __________________ 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 20-10595 Selected examples are included in the annex. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, p. 86. Renata Tyszcuk and Joe Smith, “Culture and climate change scenarios: the role and potential of the arts and humanities in responding to the ‘1.5 degrees target’”, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, vol. 31, p. 59. Ibid., p. 60. United Cities and Local Governments, “Culture 21: Actions” (see footnote 28), p. 30. Secretariat of the Committee on Culture of United Cities and Local Governments, “Culture 21 – culture, climate change and sustainable development: briefing”, p. 3. Ibid., p. 2. Ibid., p. 2. 17/23