Wales’ latest record-breaking heatwave doesn’t just threaten life, it also threatens the cultural fabric and heritage of the nation, says the Future Generations Commissioner.

In a stark message to newly-elected Senedd members, Derek Walker said culture can also offer a tool to adapt and respond to climate change.

In a week where the Met Office has issued a red warning, with temperatures expected to hit 40 degrees, Derek Walker was in Pontypridd at an event addressing the declining numbers of young people and children engaging with arts and culture.

Climate change is a direct risk to everything, including our cultural assets, from castles to language, says the commissioner, and governments and public bodies should take action to protect them for future generations.

More than 100 leaders from across culture and the public sector came together at an event at YMa arts and community hub in Pontypridd, convened by the commissioner, to discuss how culture can help Wales respond to the challenges of the future – including climate change, inequality and how to provide more opportunities for children and young people.

Held as Wales experiences increasing impacts from climate change, including periods of extreme heat, the Culture Forum highlighted the urgent need to consider how cultural places, traditions, creativity and participation can adapt to a changing climate while continuing to bring communities together.

The event focused on the future priorities for the culture sector, including addressing the concerning trend that fewer children and young people are engaging with arts and culture.

It supported the commissioner’s recommendation for Wales to have a Culture Act, which has been overwhelmingly backed by the sector; the prioritisation of culture around different policy areas and increased funding for increasing children’s participation in culture.

International and UK examples of good practice were shared, including from Finland’s Culture Kids programme, where all children born in and after 2020 are invited to two free events each year until they start school, the Rotherham Cultural Partnership’s Children’s Capital of Culture initiative, alongside children from Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Llangynwyd in Maesteg.

The event also heard from the Cabinet Minister for Culture, Trefnydd and Chief Whip, Heledd Fychan, on the priorities ahead for the sector, alongside discussions on the role of local government and how culture can contribute across all areas of public policy – from health to climate action, transport and community cohesion, as well as the importance of continuing to value and invest in culture and the arts for their own sake and the enjoyment and well-being of all.

Wales has the second-lowest spending per head on culture out of all European nations and Britain is one of the least nature-connected countries in the world.

Nature-based solutions, such as raingardens outside schools and the City Nature Trail in Swansea and Vienna’s sponge city, use culture and place to address and adapt to climate change.

Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Derek Walker, said: “One of hottest weeks on record shows the climate emergency is real and we need to recognise it as a threat to everything – from our health to our culture.

“We already know climate change is harming our cultural assets, with the risk of castles disappearing, damage to venues, and language and traditions diminishing, and those already disadvantaged will be harmed the most.

“Like nature, culture plays a vital role in helping us respond and adapt to the devastating impacts, whether you are a local poet warning about floods or the school children using storytelling to demand better futures.

“Culture preserves local knowledge, strengthens communities and inspires action and we have to protect it so everyone can participate, no matter their background. Action on climate change has to be more of a priority for public bodies and governments and we need more decarbonisation, climate adaption and nature-based solutions.”

The Culture Forum forms part of the commissioner’s wider work to support public bodies and partners in delivering the ambitions of the Well-being of Future Generations Act, ensuring that decisions made today protect and enhance cultural well-being for generations to come.

The discussions will help inform Welsh Government’s Future Trends Report – which will highlight the opportunities and challenges facing Wales when it is published early next year.

Notes to editors

• Arts participation among children in Wales has been gradually falling since 2015 and now stands at 84%, similar to levels seen a decade ago. The fall in attendance has been more recent, down from a peak of 89% in 2018 to 82% in 2023, according to the Well-being of Wales report.

• Recent research from University College London found that engaging with arts and culture at least once a week slows biological ageing by up to four per cent – comparable with regular exercise.

• YMa’s programmes and business plan were built around Wales’ Well-being of Future Generations Act and its well-being goals. It runs Planed Ponty Planet – a repair cafe and Library of Things to support the community to reduce, reuse and recycle.

• Jên Angharad, the CEO of community arts charity, Artis Community Cymuned, who run YMa, said: “Whether you’re building confidence through learning to play the harp, are part of the volunteer-led weekly crochet club whose work you can find all over the building, are watching a film, taking your child to the bouncy castle, or an artist using the space, we want everyone to feel welcome. Art might not be seen to be immediately saving lives, but evidence shows it can play a big part in enhancing well-being and in the prevention of ill health”.

• Pontypridd is familiar with the impacts of climate change, including on its cultural venues and was one of the areas highlighted in 2024 research co-authored by the commissioner about the climate threat to Wales’ heritage including disappearing castles.

• Clwb y Bont in Pontypridd was devastated by Storm Dennis in 2020 and the severe floods of January 2023 saw the club in around two inches of water.

• In his Future Generations Report 2025, Derek Walker says climate resilience and adaptation must become a core budget and public service priority. Since his report, all Public Services Boards in Wales have committed to climate risk assessments.