Beyond tech fixes, culture drives climate action | EMCCINNO Policy Brief
Without culture, the transition won’t be fair or viable. Culture must be structurally integrated into climate policy
Culture Action Europe is excited to share the first policy brief from our Horizon project, EMCCINNO: Supporting Sustainable Climate Transitions in Cultural and Creative Industries. This brief, “Beyond Tech Fixes, Culture Drives Culture Action: Support CCIs to deliver fair transitions locally,” distils what we are learning from Cultural and Artistic Social Enterprises (CASEs) and other small and medium-sized CCIs as they prototype sustainable business models “in, with, and through” arts and culture. It highlights the enabling conditions that public authorities can create: funding, regulatory frameworks, capacity-building and cross-sector collaboration, so that CCIs can move from inspiring climate narratives to delivering measurable, scalable change on the ground.
The CARE Recommendations: Four Policy Conditions to Embed Culture in Climate Action
In EMCCINNO, we present our recommendations through the CARE framework: a simple, memorable guide for moving from symbolic recognition of culture to its structural integration into climate policy. These four priorities highlight the enabling conditions that Cultural and Artistic Social Enterprises (CASEs) need to deliver real impact.
Coordinate cross-sector policy
Climate, cultural, and social economy policies are often developed in isolation, resulting in fragmented support for organisations. Stronger cross-sector consultation and collaboration are needed, with cultural and social economy actors systematically included.
Adapt climate funding to cultural and social economy realities
CASEs frequently face barriers to climate funding due to eligibility criteria designed for industrial actors, despite strong public support for policies that enable social economy organisations. 88% of European citizens think that public authorities should develop strategies and legislation to support social economy organisations, including CASEs. Climate funding instruments should recognise cultural and social economy models and support capacity-building for organisational transformation.
Recognise CASEs within climate governance and decision making
CASEs remain largely absent from formal climate governance structures, despite their role in public engagement and local implementation. Cultural and social economy representatives should be included in climate advisory bodies and involved in the design of climate adaptation and resilience strategies.
Empower place-based and participatory climate action
Top-down climate measures often overlook local contexts. Policy should support place-based economic and participatory approaches, such as those developed by CASEs, that enable communities to co-create climate responses grounded in local knowledge and cultural practice.
Download the Policy Brief
Community of Practice for Culture and Climate
The EMCCINNO Culture & Climate Community of Practice is our shared space for turning this policy brief into ongoing learning and action. It brings together cultural and creative practitioners, cultural & artistic social enterprises, researchers, and public stakeholders to exchange real-world experiences from across Europe’s transformation sites — including what’s working, what’s stuck, and what support is missing. By connecting local practice to wider sector insights, the CoP helps surface transferable methods, emerging needs, and concrete policy signals that can strengthen fair climate transitions. Join to access peer support, share your local policy context and tools, and contribute to a living knowledge base that feeds into EMCCINNO’s next steps — from pilots and learning exchanges to future recommendations and training.