COP29 | Fondazione Santagata reaffirms the pivotal role of culture in climate action presenting the results of the 4C research project

Fondazione Santagata recently returned from Baku where it coordinated the international forum "Culture and Creative Carbon Cut: The International Scenario", held as part of the COP29 programme. The event highlighted the pivotal role of culture in achieving sustainability goals and provided a platform to share best practices and actionable strategies to address climate change.

Presentation of the preliminary results of the 4C research project

The forum opened with the presentation of the results of the project "4C – Culture and Creative Carbon Cut", the first national field research in Italy to assess the carbon emissions of all cultural and creative industries.

As remarked by Paola Borrione , President and Head of Research at Fondazione Santagata: “The 4C project addresses one of the defining challenges of our time. As the first cross-sectorial study in Italy, represents a significant step in aligning cultural practices with sustainable development goals and it stresses the urgent need for impactful strategies to make culture a driver of change”.

Launched at the beginning of 2024, with the support of Banca d'Italia - Eurosistema and Fondazione CRT - 4C collected approximately 800 responses from Italian cultural organizations, underscoring an increasing awareness and the pressing need to formulate targeted policies to advance in this direction. The findings will be published in a comprehensive report scheduled for release in 2025.

A Global Forum to Promote Action

The forum featured the participation of experts and representatives from international institutions such as UNESCO, ICCROM , the UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Energy Communities at the Università di Pisa , and local stakeholders, who shared their insights during two dedicated panel sessions.

• The International Scenario: Global actors explored how cultural policies and creative industries can shape systematic climate action. A keynote by Dubois, Dorine , Head of the Executive Office for the Culture Sector at UNESCO , emphasized UNESCO’s initiatives, including risk management plans and assessments of climate change impacts on cultural and natural heritage. Her intervention reinforced the irreplaceable role of culture in addressing climate change.

• Best Practices and Common Challenges: This session highlighted practical solutions and collaborative approaches fostering dialogue between key actors in sustainability and culture featuring the perspectives of local organisations.

Andrea Porta , Project Manager of the Tourism & Just Transition Area at Fondazione Santagata, remarked on the necessity of building strong international networks to amplify the impact of culture-driven climate solutions. He highlighted the importance of placing culture at the front of the climate adaptation agenda, as advocated during COP29 Azerbaijan , and reinforced by the Climate Heritage Network (of which Fondazione Santagata is a member).

Fondazione Santagata's Commitment to a Just Transition

The forum provided an excellent platform to highlight Fondazione Santagata’s initiatives in the Just Transition Area, including:

• the capacity-building programme CHANGE Decarbonising Culture;
• the Green Culture training initiative developed in collaboration with Circolo del Design and Legambiente Piemonte e Valle d'Aosta ;
• the Climate Sensitive Travellers research commissioned by ENIT S.p.A. ;
• and the support provided to third-sector organisations with a sustainability focus within the NEXT Generation You grant program by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo

We extend our gratitude to the esteemed speakers and participants for their contributions. A special thanks goes to BFuture for their collaboration in co-organizing the panel, and to our dedicated team for their commitment to making this forum a success.