Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media: An Israeli settler was killed and two others were injured in the shooting near Salfit
Israeli emergency service: The shooting near Salfit resulted in two injuries, one in extremely critical condition and the other in serious condition
Palestinian sources: Two Israelis were injured in a shooting operation near Nablus in the northern West Bank
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: I am waiting to see who will arrive from Russia. Then I will decide what steps Ukraine should take
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: Ukraine ready for any format of negotiations to end war with Russia
President Donald Trump secures historic $1.2 trillion economic commitment in Qatar: White House
Witkoff says he and Secretary Rubio will travel to Istanbul on Friday, unsure if Putin will attend
Trump: Iran situation will work out
US, Qatar sign offer agreements for MQ9 aircraft
US, Qatar sign agreement on defense

'In 100 years, all these antiquities will be gone': Egypt

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Art Newspaper
  • 5 Nov 2022 14:48
  • 2 Shares
3 Min Read

As the latest UN Climate Change Conference begins in Egypt, climate change is destined to hit art institutions on one way or another.

  • x
  • Activists hang protest banner on the Sphinx outside the Egyptian Museum in Italy. Source: Stefano Guidi/ Getty Images
    Activists hang protest banner on the Sphinx outside the Egyptian Museum in Italy. (Getty Images)

The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, begins on November 6 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Never before has a COP summit been held in a country so inextricably linked to ancient monuments, from the pyramids to the Sphinx and Tutankhamun's tomb, all of which face escalating risks from harsher weather, hotter temperatures, and rising seas.

Egypt's Former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs, Zahi Hawass, said that practically all open-air archaeological monuments in Egypt are in grave danger.

"In my opinion, all of these antiquities will be gone in 100 years due to climate change," he warned.

Delegates at COP27 will debate whether museums should abandon their historic posture of "climate neutrality" in favor of climate action. Is the argument, however, still necessary?

Read next: Drought reveals ruins of 3,400-year-old lost city in Iraq

Related News

UN calls on shipping industry to cut emissions

Saudi green strategy not viable, fails to address climate crisis

The American Alliance of Museums commissioned research in 2021 that revealed museums to be the second most trusted source behind friends and family, and far ahead of scientists, NGOs, the media, the government, and businesses. Should this trust bank be used for the common good?

Robert Janes is a researcher at Leicester's School of Museum Studies and was the editor-in-chief of the Museum Management and Curatorship journal from 2003 to 2014. He writes for the online journal The Beam, “Why is the global museum community not confronting climate change with its collective will and intelligence? One explanation is that climate change is a taboo subject—not to be talked about with family, friends, and colleagues.”

This taboo must be demolished. “Radical changes are needed across society to ensure global heating remains below 1.5°C,” said Rodney Harrison, the professor of heritage studies at University College London.

Read next: Egypt hopes geopolitics won't hinder UN Climate Change Conference

"Museums could play a leading role in these transformations, but they can only do so if they make significant changes to the way they operate and communicate.”

“The frustrating thing is—this is all already agreed,” says Henry McGhie, founder of climate consultancy Curating Tomorrow. “The governments of all the countries that are party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC] and Paris Agreement already recognize this. They have adopted a new program, but this doesn’t seem to have bled down to the workings of many museums. We have a golden opportunity to act on climate change as a sector, but we’re not making use of it.”

In addition to the COP summits, the UN hosted Mondiacult (the Unesco World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development) in Mexico City this September. It was held 40 years after the inaugural Mondiacult conference and was solely focused on UNESCO's cultural policy and how it connects to globally approved sustainable development and climate change policies.

  • United Nations
  • Climate change
  • Egypt
  • COP27

Most Read

Trump cut off contact with Netanyahu, senior Israeli official says

Trump cut off contact with Netanyahu: Israeli media

  • US & Canada
  • 9 May 2025
Saree

Yemeni Armed Forces target key Israeli sites, USS Truman

  • MENA
  • 7 May 2025
A boy draped in a Palestinian flag carries a mock rocket during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israeli rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, May 9, 2025 (AP)

Yemen announces hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion Airport

  • Politics
  • 9 May 2025
President Donald Trump, left, greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Washington (AP)

US pressures 'Israel' for Gaza deal; Witkoff's Israeli rebuke leaked

  • US & Canada
  • 9 May 2025

Coverage

All
Gaza prevails against genocide

Read Next

All
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer with his wife Victoria make their way through supporters as they arrive at the count for the Holborn and St Pancras Parliamentary constituency where the Starmer is standing for election, in London, Friday, July 5, 2024 (AP)
Politics

UK Labour MPs urge government to recognize Palestine

Israeli exodus: 60,000 Israelis fled last year without return
Politics

Israeli exodus: 60,000 settlers fled last year on one-way tickets

Hollywood actors condemn Gaza violence days before Cannes Festival
Arts and Culture

350+ Hollywood actors condemn Gaza genocide ahead of Cannes Festival

Likud minister calls Trump as ‘unpredictable,’ unreliable
Palestine

Likud minister rebukes Trump, calls him 'unpredictable', unreliable

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS