Climate change is the fastest-growing global threat to the world's heritage - places, people, culture. This presentation will outline a recently-developed tool, the Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI), to systematically assess climate vulnerability giving examples from applications in World Heritage properties. Using the CVI, vulnerability of the key values for the location is determined, as is the vulnerability of the associated community (economic, social and cultural). This includes assessing the adaptive capacity of both. World Heritage properties are considered the best of the best globally and, until the CVI, no tool had existed to assess their climate vulnerability that was scientifically robust, transparent and repeatable. The systematic nature of CVI means that it can assist in prioritising actions within World Heritage governance. The CVI applications to-date have demonstrated its applicability across all types of World Heritage properties and in other types of protected areas.
