Recognising the need of heritage professionals to strengthen their expertise in Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) implementation, ICOMOS launched a 'Capacity building for Heritage Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context' workshop series in July 2024.
The first workshop of the series is organised with ICOMOS Austria and takes place this September.

The Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), the Heritage Commission in Saudi Arabia, ICOMOS and its Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGWG) successfully concluded the final phase of the Capacity Building Programme on Incorporating Sustainable Development into the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention in the Arab States Region. This phase culminated with an in-person workshop in the Arab States Region, which took place from 8-12 September 2024 in the AlUla region of Saudi Arabia.

Next year, the UN is planning to recommend to national governments a set of model indicators for measuring progress in adapting heritage sites and cultural practices to climate change. In order to help diverse heritage advocates engage with this UN planning process and guide it to a good result, ICOMOS has joined with the Preserving Legacies project and the Climate Heritage Network to launch the Heritage Adapts to Climate Alliance (HACA) initiative. Financial support for this initiative is being provided by the National Geographic Society and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

ICOMOS, together with its Japanese National Committee, is issuing a Heritage Alert to stop the construction plans threatening the integrity and scientific value of the archaeological remains of the First Moji Railway Station complex in Kitakyushu City, Japan. ICOMOS demands a reassessment of the development plan and a comprehensive conservation of the remaining sections of the complex.

Since 2011, ICOMOS has been closely engaged with the topic of heritage and sustainable development. This advocacy predates the formation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 and it remains actively engaged with the pursuit of advocating for a more holistic Culture Goal beyond 2030. ICOMOS’ work is undertaken by the Sustainable Development Goals Working Group (SDGWG) under the coordination of a volunteer ICOMOS Focal Point.

The ICOMOS Climate Change and Heritage Working Group (CCHWG) was formed in 2017 to help address cultural heritage issues related to climate change. In 2021, the group was renamed the Climate Action Working Group (CAWG) and expanded its focus to include the implementation of the 2021–2024 ICOMOS Triennial Scientific Plan, education, resource creation, and managing key climate-related projects, including the National Geographic-funded Preserving Legacies Project and ongoing efforts to development of a Climate Action Toolkit for World Heritage.