The UN World Tourism Organisation has said more than 700 businesses, destinations, civil society groups and even countries have signed up to the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.
It was launched in Glasgow at the Cop26 climate conference in November 2021, with signatories pledging they will “support the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050”.
The Glasgow Declaration is led by UNWTO with the Travel Foundation, and within the framework of the One Planet Network and Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency initiatives.
The latest signatories to the Glasgow Declaration include the Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia, the Tourism Authority of Monaco and the Secretariat of State for Tourism of Honduras.
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Travel industry commits to climate action with Glasgow Declaration
National tourism authorities from Panama, Kiribati, Micronesia, Portugal are also among the signatories, as are firms such as Accor, Iberostar, Booking.com, Expedia, The Travel Corporation, Radisson Hotel Group, and tour operators and accommodation businesses from 130 countries.
The UNWTO brought leading sector stakeholders together at Cop27 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, earlier this month “to share practical insights into accelerating the shift to greater sustainability and reaching Net Zero”.
Zoritsa Urosevic, UNWTO executive director, said: “One year after its launch, we are proud to see the way the Glasgow Declaration has inspired our sector into action.
“Unlocking finance and developing measurement frameworks will be critical to scaling up our support and continue accelerating climate action for resilience.”
Peter Thomson, UN secretary general’s special envoy for the ocean, commented: “A net zero future for tourism largely depends on the ocean and the regeneration of destinations, notably coastal destinations. We have to turn tourism into a sector that is responsive to the climate emergency.”
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