Key Impact Points:
- Historic Declaration Signed: Over 50 countries signed a U.N. declaration to enhance climate action in the global tourism sector, marking its first inclusion in the UN Climate Change Conference Action Agenda.
- Commitment to Emissions Reductions: Signatories pledged to integrate tourism into climate plans, including updates to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) due in February.
- Sustainability Framework Introduced: The World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance unveiled a framework for measuring and reporting emissions, water use, waste, and energy across 55,000 hotels globally.
Tourism’s Role in Climate Action
The global tourism industry contributes 3% of global GDP but is responsible for 8.8% of greenhouse gas emissions, highlighting the urgency for climate action. Speaking at COP29 in Azerbaijan, U.N. Executive
Director for Tourism Zoritsa Urosevic said: “At COP29 we have achieved today an historic milestone by being included in the UN Climate Change Conference Action Agenda for the first time.”
Tourism’s significant economic role, especially in emerging nations, makes it vulnerable to climate-related events such as hurricanes and droughts.
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Pledges and Framework for Change
The declaration urges governments to address tourism in their climate policies. Azerbaijan’s tourism agency head, Kanan Gasimov, emphasized the importance of sustainable practices:
“We now understand that the future of our business depends on the sustainability of our actions today.”
The World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance introduced a framework to collect and report critical data on greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption.
CEO Glenn Mandziuk underlined the sector’s responsibility: “We are an industry that has a vested interest in the protection of each destination. We have to have a conversation where we can play a bigger role.”
Industry-Wide Impact
The framework, endorsed by major hotel groups such as Accor, Hilton, and Marriott, is expected to improve awareness of tourism’s environmental footprint among industry stakeholders and travelers. By focusing on sustainable tourism, the initiative aims to mitigate the sector’s impact on climate change and protect destinations for future generations.
Related Article: Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism
