The European Union Perspective on Cultural Heritage and Climate Change Issues

The paper examines the European Union perspective on the cultural heritage and climate change issues. It starts with drawing up the international law approach to the subject. Whereas the studies on impact of climate change on human environment have become fundamental research in various fields of science, the international community has not yet carried on any serious discussion on the issue of the protection of the cultural heritage in this context. In the first part of this paper the cultural heritage and climate change issues will be discussed from two perspectives - the 1972 World Heritage Convention, and the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The second part of the paper presents a systemic approach to the European Union policy and law on cultural heritage and climate change issues. The paper is concluded with some remarks de lege lata and de lege ferenda.