Cultural Heritage & Sustainability

Climate Crisis

The outlook for the environment grows bleaker every year, with 2026 providing record-setting temperatures across the planet. According to a recent large-scale empirical study* reported on by the University of Oxford, a shocking 96% of climate policy has failed since 1998. More recent news has confirmed that globally set targets are not being met, with proposed solutions for sustainable development lacking traction with businesses, policy makers, and the general public.

Salzburg's Answer

Since the eighteenth century, however, visitors to Salzburg have been deeply inspired by the almost contrapuntal harmony that exists between the city's sublime Alpine setting and rich cultural heritage. 

At SIAS, we believe that Salzburg, its natural landscape, and vast cultural resources provide hope and inspiration for the way humans and nature can find sustainable solutions for the future of the planet. 

Drawing upon interdisciplinary methods, arts-based creative thinking, and the raw energy of festival settings, SIAS illuminates the web of deep-level connections among cultural heritage, the natural environment, and human-built networks.

Responding to the European Council's recent "Resolution for Culture" (2022/C 466/01), and working with longstanding thinkers, scholars, artists and ensembles, such as Orchestra for the Earth (est. 2017), SIAS is finding creative ways to expedite positive solutions for climate change by awareness-raising, strategic education, and public-facing research.

*A. Stechemesser, et al, "Climate policies that achieved major emission reductions: Global evidence from two decades", Science 385 (23 August 2024), 884-892,