If governments, industry and consumers work together to make travel and tourism more carbon neutral the sector will be able to expand while also helping to sustainably develop poorer nations, according to a recent report.
The report, Towards a Low Carbon Travel and Tourism Sector, is the result of collaboration between the World Economic Forum, United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and travel and tourism business leaders, including representatives from TUI Travel and Thomas Cook Group.
Among the proposals in the report is that money raised through aviation emission trading should be used for green economy projects in the travel and tourism sector. Setting up a green fund for travel and tourism would also help finance the mitigation projects, suggested the report, which will help reduce the environmental impact of air transport, cruises and hospitality.
The report highlighted the importance of tourism as an export and development driver for poor countries, small islands, and landlocked states, where it said the growth of sustainable air transport is desirable.
UNWTO assistant secretary-general Geoffrey Lipman, who unveiled the report, said: “This is our contribution to the Copenhagen process and beyond. It reflects the commitment of our sector to proactively support the international community’s response to the climate crisis. It also underscores the need for coherent economic and development strategies – where tourism and travel can play an important role.”
World Economic Forum head of aviation travel and tourism industries Thea Chiesa said: “The study was developed over a one-year period as a multi-stakeholder process in which industry, international organisations, governments, and industry associations collaborated to analyse the impact of the travel and tourism sector on CO2 emissions and develop a framework for emission reduction by the sector as a whole.”
Travel and tourism’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is 5% of all manmade sources, the report said.