How big a threat is climate change to culture around the world?

In Bangladesh, more than 100 historic coastal mosques and archaeological sites - including the imposing 15th-century Sixty Dome Mosque - are now at risk from worsening extreme heat, heavy rainfall, storm surges and saltwater seeping into foundations and walls.

A warming planet "is among the greatest threats facing culture and natural heritages sites globally" - and one in five monuments is already at risk, UNESCO told our correspondent Mosabber Hossain.

But culture can also be a way of tackling climate change.

In India, communities in Rajasthan state have begun planting trees to celebrate weddings, funerals, festivals and other cultural landmarks, in a drive to restore degraded land.

Making efforts to protect and improve nature as part of traditions "creates a knock-on effect, combating everything from food insecurity to climate change," Shyam Sunder Jyani, the man behind the push, told our reporter Annie Banerji.

Cultural identity - including the desire for clear views over natural land - can also be a reason why renewable energy projects, such as wind farms, are turned away.

Making smarter use of limited space - like putting 3,000 solar panels on the roof of a FedEx depot in Washington rather than on undeveloped land - can make a big difference in how fast renewables can be added to the grid, experts told our correspondent Carey L. Biron.

As more U.S. companies lay out plans to slash their emissions, demand is soaring for best practice guidelines on how and where to site clean energy projects.

"We're hoping to avoid the mistakes of the past," said Zach Starsia of LevelTen Energy, which runs an online marketplace connecting renewables projects with purchasers and investors.

See you next week!

Laurie

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