From the Swiss Alps to the Sydney Opera House, some of the world’s most famous UNESCO World Heritage sites could be destroyed by climate change, a new analysis shows.
Floods, coastal erosion, landslides, strong winds, extreme heat, storms and hurricanes are just some of the climate-related hazards facing significant sites around the world.
Climate X, a company specializing in climate risk data analysis, has modeled the impact of these developments on 500 such milestones and identified the 50 countries most at risk by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions are not drastically reduced.
A total of 17 European World Heritage sites are on the list. Floods and droughts are the greatest threats to the entire continent.
Sweden and France are home to Europe’s most endangered World Heritage sites
SwedenThe Engelsberg Ironworks is the site most at risk from climate change in Europe and ranks fourth on the world’s top 50 list due to the risk of flooding and river flooding.
It dates back to the 17th century and is considered an outstanding example of the European industrial complex and the best preserved example of a Swedish Ironworks that increased Sweden’s prosperity for two centuries.
Closely followed by the Chauvet-Pont d’Arc cave in Ardèche, Francewhich ranks sixth. Threatened by floods and landslides, the decorated cave contains the oldest known and best preserved figurative drawings in the world, dating back up to 32,000 years.
Which other European cultural heritage sites are threatened by climate change?
The Jungfrau-Aletsch region is in 11th place. Swiss Alps just misses the top 10. It is home to Europe’s largest glacier, which is, however, threatened by river floods.
The Zollverein industrial complex in Essen (12th place) is exposed to similar threats, while the Rjukan-Notodden industrial complex Cultural Heritage (13th place) in Norway – which uses hydropower to produce nitrogen fertilizers – is at risk from flooding.
The Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay in France (17th place), founded in 1119, could also be destroyed by surface damage. flooding if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced.
BulgariaThe Srebarna Nature Reserve (ranked 20th) – a 600-hectare freshwater lake that serves as a breeding ground for nearly 100 bird species – and the biodiverse Danube Delta in Romania (ranked 27th) are both threatened by river flooding.
Related
Storms Added to this are the risks facing the medieval old towns of Stralsund and Wismar in Germany (22nd) and the spectacular water gardens of Studley Royal Park in England (24th).
There are also various Scottish Many locations face climatic threats, from coastal flooding in the remote St Kilda archipelago (45th) to landslides in the 18th-century mill village of New Lanark (44th).
Elsewhere, Norway‘s Bryggen (31st) – Bergen’s historic port district – is threatened by floods and droughts; Provins, the city of medieval fairs (32nd) in the Champagne region of France, is threatened by river floods; and the western Norwegian fjords (40th) and Spain’s Biscay Bridge (43rd) are both threatened by coastal floods.
Spain ranks 33rd Doñana National Park Even the countries with the highest scores face numerous threats, including drought and flooding of rivers, surface waters and coasts.
Locations in Indonesia, China, Australia, Japan and India dominate the rest of the top 50.
“A stark warning to governments, conservationists and the global community”
The loss of UNESCO Selecting World Heritage sites based on their cultural or natural significance would be a devastating blow – but the climate threats they face are already impacting communities and economies around the world, warns Climate X.
“Our results are a clear warning “Governments, conservationists and the global community must make protecting our planet a top priority – preserving our ancient monuments and our current assets and infrastructure – and protecting life today and in the future,” says Lukky Ahmed, CEO and co-founder of the company.
Climate X models climate risk for real assets by creating digital twins and provides insights into the future that stakeholders can use to assess the impact of climate change on assets or real estate.
