Introduction

This chapter presents the overall scope of the volume, which frames justice and equity at the centre of heritage-led climate actions. Bringing together contributions from over 60 authors across 25 countries, it outlines five cross-cutting themes—loss and damage, tangible and intangible heritage, plural ways of knowing, intersectionality and decolonisation, and community-centred approaches—that recur throughout the volume. Each theme demonstrates how heritage can both reveal the uneven burdens of climate change and contribute to just responses. These threads are more than static observations: they form a roadmap for climate justice in heritage practice, emphasising that every place has a climate story and that equitable futures require empowering communities as custodians of their pasts and co-creators of climate solutions.