Museums for and Against Climate Change

A dating app prompt, a fun to-do around a new city or a tourist's itinerary essential. Museums find audiences and offer leisure to audiences as varied as their artifacts. We look at the Van Goghs, Da Vincis and Monets, the sculptures, clothes and natural artifacts and we compliment the brush stroke, the use of color, the representation of a time period.

But housing artifacts from a point in history is proving to be taxing on our future. Now when we say museums and climate change in the same sentence, our thought goes to protests by activists like the Extinction Rebellion who have been radically bringing attention to the urgency of the climate crisis.

But this connection runs a bit deeper and a bit more sinister. Our beloved museums, art galleries and cultural centers are being linked to a high carbon footprint resulting from their operations. Preservation of the items that museums house require high moderation of temperatures to prevent them from getting damaged due to the rising temperatures. Often referred to as the "doom loop" of the AC, moderating indoor temperatures with air conditioning ends up adding to the GHG release which further worsens an already worsening status quo.

Some also argue how chemical and toxins-based art restoration doesn't really paint a nice picture for the climate fight. Considering that there are more museums in the US than McDonalds and Starbucks combined, the scale of damage can only be imagined.

The paint thickens...

Museums can't solely be discredited with adding to the climate crisis though. They're also victims of the crisis. Increasing temperatures are endangering the health of the museum residents. Rising temperatures are putting the existence of coastal museums at risk.

But what led to such a dark state of affairs? Lack of regulations, unavailable data points or difficult data collection about sustainability measures of current carbon footprint setup museums to fail before they even begin.

A NEMO report had some less than assuring observations in this respect. Pointing to a major factor dissuading museums' journey towards sustainability is the lack of finance. Over half of the museums consulted said they don't have climate-friendly construction and only two out of 10 museums admitted to using green energy suppliers. Four out of 10 museums claimed to have measurement and assessment tools and criteria for their sustainable efforts - showcasing a lack of actionable steps towards meeting sustainability goals. A mere one in 10 museums are aware of the local/regional/national climate policies that concern them - leading to fewer authorities consulting them for sustainability policies.

The artful design of a greener future for museums

What may sound promising in this whole crisis is that the entire collective of museums and artists are also playing their role in educating the audiences and drawing a sense of urgency on the fight against climate change. Artists' creations of themes that showcase climate change, and museums and galleries housing them act as a sign of support for the fight against the climate crisis.

It's also recommended that integrating climate change into organizational strategy by upper management might help tilt the focus towards more sustainable practices. A report by the European parliament also draws attention to administrations and governments being called upon to provide more investments and funding to ensure buildings with greener energy or neutral constructions. This includes high-efficiency glass, roof and wall installations, and more nature-based solutions.

Some museums are resorting to broader temperature and humidity fluctuations for most of the art pieces. These include art pieces that do not require strict controls like wooden sculptures and artifacts that tend to contract or expand depending on the temperatures.

Another proposed solution that could change the face of the museum experience and the sustainable action includes digitisation of museum collections. This could prove to be really effective in preserving knowledge while maintaining access for the public and professionals.