Climate change and museums
I have been working intensively on climate change and museums for about 15 years.
I started this work when I worked at Manchester Museum, and led climate change-related activity there, including exhibitions, events, conferences, workshops for the heritage sector, partnerships with academics and with local and international policy workers. This work was recognised by the Museum becoming the first Carbon Literate museum in the world, and won a Leading Culture Destinations Award in 2017 for climate-related work.
My work on climate change is not just about raising awareness of the problem, but is directed to ensuring people, and organisations, can reduce climate impacts where they can, and adapt to those that they can’t. My focus is on building people’s, museums’ and networks’ capacities to face and meet the challenge, working together and with other sectors.
I co-organised two international conferences on climate change and museums in 2017 and 2018 (with Prof Walter Leal of Hamburg University and Manchester Metropolitan University). Participants included the IPCC, UNFCCC, academics and museum professionals. These conferences changed my life.
Since 2016, I have been working to connect museums more generally with the aims of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
I have been invited to speak at and help facilitate Action for Climate Empowerment Dialogues and Workshops at United Nations Climate Change conferences since 2017 (three times 2017-19).
This helped get ‘museums’ formally recognised as key sites for public education and public participation, and included in the Workplan for the Paris Climate Agreement, which was adopted by signatories of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and Paris Agreement at COP24 in Katowice.
I led the submission to the Talanoa Dialogue in 2018 ahead of COP24, on museums as key sites to promote climate change education, research and partnerships.
In 2019, I was invited to present on the role of museums in supporting the aims of the Doha Work Programme, which supports an article of the Paris Agreement.
Co-organised conferences
International Symposium on Climate Change and Museum, Manchester, 11–13 April 2018. Participants included the IPCC, UNFCCC, academics, museum professionals.
World Symposium on Climate Change Communication, 22-24 Feb 2017, Manchester. This conference brought together over 100 academics, practitioners and representations of NGOs (including the IPCC, World Meteorological Organisation and UNFCCC), from 25 countries, to present their work, share ideas and best practice.
Co-edited books
Handbook of Climate Change Communication. Vol 1: Theory of Climate Change Communication. Springer, Berlin.
Leal Filho, W., Manolas, E., Azul, A.M., Azeiteiro, U.M., McGhie, H. (Eds.) (2017–18).
Handbook of Climate Change Communication. Vol 2: Practice of Climate Change Communication. Springer, Berlin.
Leal Filho, W., Manolas, E., Azul, A.M., Azeiteiro, U.M., McGhie, H. (Eds.) (2017–18).
Handbook of Climate Change Communication. Vol 3: Case Studies in Climate Change Communication. Springer, Berlin.
Leal Filho, W., Manolas, E., Azul, A.M., Azeiteiro, U.M., McGhie, H. (Eds.) (2017–18).
Addressing the Challenges in Communicating Climate Change Across Various Audiences. Springer, Gland.
Leal Filho ,W., B. Lackner and H. McGhie (Eds.) (2018).
FURTHER INFO:
ACE Decision on the role of museums in action for climate empowerment
2017 5th Dialogue on Action for Climate Empowerment
2018 ACE Workshop on ways of enhancing the implementation of education, training, public awareness, public participation and public access to information so as to enhance actions under the Paris Agreement
2019 ACE Dialogue