Prof. Phoebe Koundouri was honored to present at the 4th International Conference on Transdisciplinary Multispectral Modelling and Cooperation for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, held from April 7th to 9th, 2025, at the Eugenides Foundation. She participated in the panel discussion titled “Culture-Based Climate Action: 4COP for Conference of Parties of UN Action”, moderated by George Kremlis (European Commission, Honorary Director – Ambassador of the EPLO to Bulgaria) and Prof. Antonia Moropoulou (Emeritus Professor, National Technical University of Athens).
Prof. Koundouri delivered a speech entitled “Integrated Assessment of National Climate Neutrality Commitments: A Decision Support System for their Achievement”, in which she emphasized the urgent need to explicitly link climate policy with cultural heritage preservation. She highlighted that while declarations and treaties provide essential frameworks, it is the implementation of effective, integrated policies and actionable pathways that drive meaningful change on the ground.
As Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Global Climate Hub, Prof. Koundouri shared insights from the network’s work across 120 countries, supporting the development of climate-neutral and resilient transition strategies. This comprehensive approach includes:
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Scientific modeling of energy, food, transport, and cultural systems
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Stakeholder engagement through Living Labs
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Digital platforms providing open-access data, models, and decision-support tools
Prof. Koundouri also underlined the importance of valuing both tangible and intangible cultural heritage using rigorous economic methodologies. For further reading, she referred to the following publication:
Halkos, G.E., Koundouri, P.C., Aslanidis, P.S.C. et al. (2024). Evaluating the tangible and intangible parameters of cultural heritage: an economic meta-analysis in a global context. Discover Sustainability, 5, 187.
🔗 Read here
