On 31 October 2023 at Tate Modern, representatives of UK museums, industry associations, and funders participated in the first UK Museum COP, which was arranged by the National Museum Directors Council (NMDC). Leaders of museums came to an agreement at the event regarding the need for industry-wide efforts to reduce carbon emissions and lessen the effects of the climate and biodiversity crises.
Following the event, museum leaders issued their first-ever joint commitment to collective action:
“As leaders of the UK museums, we feel a responsibility to speak out about the current climate and biodiversity crisis and call upon UK politicians and businesses to accelerate action to mitigate this crisis before it is too late. We are already around or beyond crucial tipping points: global temperatures are higher than they have ever been since humans emerged as a species, and extinctions are occurring at around a thousand times the normal rate. There is an existential threat to the world we have become accustomed to.”
“An ethical obligation”
The statement continues:
“Museums are institutions with a long-term view. Many have collections relating to the Earth’s five previous mass extinction events, and we are now in the midst of the sixth, the Anthropocene. UK museum leaders feel they have an ethical obligation to take action to alleviate that damage.”
They have agreed to:
- Use relevant collections, programmes and exhibitions to engage audiences with the climate crisis and inspire them to take positive action,
- Introduce more sustainable collections management,
- Develop and implement decarbonisation plans which include relaxing carbon-hungry environmental parameters,
- Undertake measures to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather and adapt to new challenges,
- Increase biodiversity in our green spaces.
Museums require support with decarbonisation, mitigation, and adaptation, much like any other organisation in the country as a whole. Museum leaders are urging companies, investors, and the governments of the present and the future to support this as well as uphold and fulfil their pledges to achieve net zero carbon emissions and safeguard the environment.
Sector comes together
Several sub-groups were entrusted with examining several critical issues facing museums and coming up with ideas and steps to accelerate the removal of obstacles to sustainability. These groups’ efforts culminated in the UK Museum COP. Focus themes included: personnel and skills; funding; collections and environmental conditions; ethics; heritage buildings; adaptation and planning; and Scope 3 challenges.
Nick Merriman, chief executive of the Horniman Museum and Gardens & COP Chair, says:
“Museums have a special place in the debate about the climate and biodiversity crisis because they can take a long-term view, beyond the short-term cycles of politics and economics. The fact that the whole museum sector has come together to stress the urgency for action is hugely significant. We will now work together to implement the actions we have agreed.”
Maria Balshaw, director of Tate and chair of the NMDC, adds:
“The NMDC was delighted to convene the first UK Museum COP at Tate Modern this week to agree actions museums and galleries can and should take to address the climate and ecological crisis. Museums and galleries have a unique perspective as institutions that have to take a long-term view with their mission to preserve collections and stories for the long future. The conference agreed a series of vital actions to reduce the environmental impact of museums and show how they can inspire positive action for our public.”
The NMDC has also published a report called Green Museums: Tackling the Climate Crisis. This demonstrates the many different ways that museums are responding to the climate emergency. The report presents case studies from museums within the NMDC membership across the themes of research, public engagement and greening estates and operations.
