Promoting a Sustainable Climate Transition for Cypriot Museums

ClimAid aims to develop a holistic operational framework tailored to the specific needs of museums in Cyprus, to support their transition toward climate resilience and environmental sustainability. At its core, the project seeks to equip museum professionals, institutions, and policymakers with a decision-support tool that facilitates the systematic assessment of climate-related risks and informs both mitigation and adaptation strategies.

The framework will enable institutions to identify vulnerabilities across all dimensions of museum operations—from collections to management practices—while also guiding institutional and operational changes necessary to reduce the sector’s environmental impact. By fostering informed, values-sensitive decisions, ClimAid aspires to catalyse transformative change across the Cypriot museum sector and to lay the groundwork for coherent, evidence-based policies supporting its green transition.

The project aspires to set a new standard for climate resilience in museums, combining technological innovation, cultural sensitivity, and strategic stakeholder engagement to safeguard and enhance the cultural heritage of Cyprus for future generations.

The primary objectives of the ClimAid project are to:

• Systematically identify the full spectrum of climate-related risks affecting Cypriot museums across all critical domains of their operation, as well as the ways in which museum activities may contribute to climate change, thereby addressing both exposure and impact.

• Develop a participatory approach to climate risk analysis that incorporates the perceptions held by both museum professionals and the wider public, so that risk assessments and proposed mitigation measures are not only technically effective but also culturally informed and socially relevant. This approach allows the active involvement of all stakeholders and the general public, democratising the decision-making process.

• Design and implement a climate risk assessment methodology specifically calibrated to the climatic and institutional realities of Cyprus, for evaluating current and projected vulnerabilities for museum assets and practices.

• Produce a set of actionable, context-specific guidelines for museums in Cyprus, embedded within a holistic operational framework. These guidelines will inform institutional reforms and day-to-day practices aimed at reducing environmental impact, increasing adaptive capacity, and safeguarding the sector’s cultural and social roles during the climate transition.

Disclaimer: This project is implemented under the Programme of Social Cohesion “THALIA 2021–2027”, co-funded by the European Union through the Research and Innovation Foundation.