Integrating cultural resources and heritage in climate action: A review of nine climate plans

This study examines the integration of cultural resources into climate governance by identifying key entry points for their inclusion in policy. Analyzing nine national, regional, and municipal climate plans, we assess whether cultural resources function as passive elements or active contributors to sustainable climate action. Using a systematic coding process, we categorize references into three dimensions—conceptualization, policy context, and governance treatment— providing a structured framework for evaluating their role and transformative potential. Seventeen recurring entry points emerge from the analysis, representing key actions that facilitate cultural resource integration into climate planning. These entry points reveal opportunities within governance frameworks to enhance cultural resource management in adaptation, risk reduction, and mitigation strategies. Rather than serving as prescriptive measures, they reflect common policy themes and suggest context-specific pathways to accelerate transformative governance. Our findings confirm widespread recognition of cultural resources in climate action and underscore the importance of stakeholder dialogue and the inclusion of both tangible and intangible cultural elements. However, significant gaps persist, including insufficient monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, weak cross-sectoral integration, and narrow definitions that hinder operationalizing intangible attributes. We conclude that fully leveraging cultural resources for transformative climate governance requires relational, reflexive, and multi-level approaches. Such strategies must optimize cultural resource management within existing governance systems while critically addressing broader unsustainable patterns—structural inequalities, sectoral silos, and rigid policy frameworks—that limit their transformative potential. • Establishes theoretical linkages between cultural resources and transformative climate governance. • Introduces a structured methodology to assess cultural resource integration in climate plans. • Analyzes nine national, regional, and municipal climate plans across diverse contexts. • Reveals a persistent gap between the potential of cultural resources and their operational role in climate planning. • Identifies seventeen strategic entry points as leverage mechanisms for systemic change in cultural heritage governance.