The Green Cluster of Cultural Heritage: Climate Effects TeamEU funded projects

Europe’s built heritage, cultural landscapes and sites are under immediate threat from the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels, prolonged droughts, floods, and strong storms. Acid rain and other environmental pollutants cause wear and defacement of monuments and historic buildings, while soil erosion accelerates the deterioration of underwater and coastal heritage sites. The effects of climate change also affect, directly or indirectly, indoor cultural heritage.

Horizon Europe, the 9^th European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027), is a key instrument of the Union to tackle global challenges such as the impact of climate change and natural disasters on cultural assets, as well as to promote cooperation and the influence of research and innovation in the design, support, and implementation of EU policies. To further enhance efficiency and research collaboration, the European Commission (EC) clusters the consortia with similar research objectives during their lifecycle. The idea is to facilitate researchers to share insights and best practices, identify synergies for dissemination and communication actions, and propose integrated feedback recommendations to policy makers in the EC and beyond.

Since 2021, three calls for proposals have invited research teams to respond to the demands for more sustainable methods and technologies to restore monuments and works of art^[i], the impact of climate change and natural hazards on cultural heritage^[ii], and advanced technologies for remote monitoring in the field^[iii]. The eleven projects selected for the EU funding have been encouraged to form the Green Cluster on Cultural Heritage.

Within the Green Cluster, the ‘’Climate Effects’’ Team, currently composed of four active EU projects (THETIDA, RescueME, TRIQUERTA, STECCI), has an overarching aim to address the urgent need to protect monuments, historic buildings, and sites from the diverse impacts of climatic risks, natural and anthropogenic hazards. This is expected to contribute to the conservation and protection of Europe’s heritage by exploiting cutting-edge remote monitoring technologies and modelling tools for multi-hazard risk understanding and better preparedness.

Research within the Green Cluster is complemented by other consortia that develop sustainable methodologies, materials and techniques for the preservation and restoration of art objects and explore the use of advanced and sophisticated technologies for more accurate, targeted, and reliable remote monitoring purposes.

The impact of the scientific research is furthermore amplified by the active involvement of Artificial Intelligence tools, a wide range of community groups, stakeholders, and participants covering the full spectrum of ongoing research activities. This includes participatory and inclusive approaches, such as citizen science and participatory Living Lab methodologies.

The overall goal of the EC is to support transdisciplinary joint efforts of researchers to develop sustainable preservation and adaptation plans, and to bring community involvement and inclusiveness to the forefront of large collaborative research projects funded by the EU. The long-term outcome will be the creation of a sustainable cultural heritage research ecosystem.

[i] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/horizon-cl2-2021-heritage-01-01

[ii] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/horizon-cl2-2022-heritage-01-08

[iii] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/horizon-cl2-2023-heritage-01-01