UK Museums Join Forces to Combat Climate, Biodiversity Crisis

National and regional museums across the UK joined forces to combat the climate and biodiversity crisis, using their position to engage audiences to tackle such issues.

The museum leaders said in the statement that the movement was the first ever joint commitment to collective action as they felt a responsibility to talk about the climate and biodiversity crisis.

UK Museums Fight Climate, Biodiversity Crisis

(Photo : JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
People visit the exhibition "Skateboard" at the Design Museum, in central London, on October 18, 2023. "Skateboard" is the first major UK exhibition to map the design evolution of the skateboard from the 1950s to today and it will run from October 20, 2023 to June 2, 2024.

Representatives of museums, organizations in the sector, and funders gathered in the first UK Museum Cop at Tate Modern in London last week.

Museums and organizations from Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Brighton, Leeds, Derby, Liverpool, York, Sheffield, and London, and national bodies from England, Wales and Scotland attended the gathering.

Museums and galleries, including Tate, have ended their sponsorship deals with fossil fuel companies after years under pressure from environment campaigners. This year, the British Museum did not attend the Museum Cop, and they have also announced that they ended their sponsorship deal with BP, a British oil and gas company, after 27 years.

The statement said, "institutions with a long-term view. Many have collections relating to the Earth's five previous mass extinction events, and we are now in the midst of the sixth, the Anthropocene. UK museum leaders feel they have an ethical obligation to take action to alleviate that damage."

UK museums have pledged to combat climate and biodiversity crises with collections, programs, and exhibitions and motivate audiences to take part in the action. They also want to develop and implement decarbonization plans and increase biodiversity in museums' green spaces.

Maria Balshaw, the chair of the National Museum Directors' Council, which organized the Cop, and the director of Tate said that museums and galleries have a long-term view with their mission to protect collections and stories for the extended future.

Furthermore, the conference agreed on fundamental actions to reduce the environmental impact of museums and show how museums can inspire positive measures for the public.

Controversial Partnership Between BP, UK Museums

BP has been one of the leading arts sponsors in the UK and a sponsor of the British Museum since 1996. However, the British Museum has confirmed that BP was no longer the sponsor of their further exhibitions or other activities.

Along with the British Museum, the Tate, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Shakespeare Company, Scottish Ballet, and Royal Opera House have also ended their funding partnerships with BP.

The campaigners celebrated their victory after years of protesting about environmental causes in the museum's Great Court. However, BP was still sponsoring the Science Museum's educational academy.

The British-Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif, who resigned as a trustee of the museum in 2019, also protested at the BP deal and said that prominent institutions like the British Museums should not allow BP to look like a force for good in society.