World Heritage Catalysis
Climate Action Plan
Oslo, Norway 02. November 2021
World Heritage Catalysis is an emerging commons oriented community of practice applying innovative tools and technologies in transformative visitor management. The goal is to enhance resilience and adaptive capacity across communities and stakeholders living in and around UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Recognising the vulnerability of many tourism dependent communities, the unsustainability of a perpetual growth approach and the need to decouple tourism driven development and greenhouse gas emissions, it seeks to contribute towards a new transformative paradigm where natural and cultural heritage commons are protected from exploitation and negative externalities including carbon emissions.
By facilitating an inclusive infrastructure for online collaboration, promoting climate friendly practices through implementation of VMAST - the UNESCO World Heritage Visitor Management Assessment & Strategy Tool, and elaborating WHETS - the World Heritage Exchange Trading System as a carbon neutral means of exchange, World Heritage Catalysis aims to help all involved stakeholders reduce individual carbon emissions and collaboratively contribute towards a regenerative development paradigm.
Pledges & commitments
World Heritage Catalysis is a member of the Climate Heritage Network and signatory of the manifesto Accelerating Climate Action Through the Power of Arts, Culture & Heritage and Tourism Declares A Climate Emergency
As signatory and launch partner on the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism World Heritage Catalysis is committed to the shared goal of cutting tourism emissions in half over the next decade and reach Net Zero emissions as soon as possible by 2050.
World Heritage Catalysis Climate Action Plan:
Interim targets (within the next 12 months)
- Elaborate decarbonization efforts as part of the theory of change (https://www.whcatalysis.org/toc);
- Identify and promote resources and practices that support decarbonisation across all the VMAST goals (https://www.whcatalysis.org/vmast-resources);
- Specifically support VMAST Goal B: Contribution to Environmental Sustainability, climate change mitigation & adaptation, Objective B8: Greenhouse gas emissions (carbon footprint) are minimised (https://www.whcatalysis.org/vmast-b);
- In the Code of practice for Catalyst include a pledge on general decarbonisation and carbon neutrality in efforts facilitated under or associated with World Heritage Catalysis (https://www.whcatalysis.org/governance);
- In Partner identification and agreements consider direct and indirect carbon emissions from activities (https://www.whcatalysis.org/governance);
- Seek to minimize carbon footprint in the acquisition and use of technological hardware and software (https://www.whcatalysis.org/about);
- Communicate involvement in the Glasgow Declaration and publish the Climate Action Plan on the website (https://www.whcatalysis.org/about).
Long term goals and targets:
- World Heritage sites and destinations supported through World Heritage Catalysis has a net-zero aim and decarbonisation strategy with clearly identified actions integrated into their tourism and/or visitor management strategy;
- An elaborated and empirically supported theory of change including climate actions and regenerative practices;
- WHETS (the World Heritage Exchange Trading System) is utilised as a climate friendly means of exchange. The elaboration of WHETS - the World Heritage Exchange Trading System is a contribution to climate friendly monetary innovation for the protection of natural and cultural heritage, regenerative exchanges and community resilience.
For more information contact [email protected]
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