by UNWTO
Introduction
In an era of continuous crises– namely, the climate crisis, global pandemic, and political turbulence – leaders in the travel and tourism sector find themselves managing a complex set of dynamics. As the findings of the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports make clear, in order to limit warming to around 1.5 degrees Celsius, “global greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest, and be reduced by 43% by 2030.”1 Despite this reality, GHG emissions have “continued to rise across all sectors and subsectors, and most rapidly in transport and industry.”2 Clearly, the importance of reinventing global industries is paramount. Travel and tourism, with its vast network of stakeholders which includes transportation, hospitality and tour operators, among others, has been estimated to represent around 8% of global greenhouse emissions.3 In 2019, tourism emissions were forecasted to increase by at least 25% by 20304 under a business as usual scenario. As such, an immediate and determined effort at transforming the sector will contribute to meaningful climate benefits and addressing the climate crisis. In an effort to support tourism stakeholders accelerate climate action to ensure a responsible recovery from COVID-19 through a green transition, a global survey – the first of its kind – was undertaken during the months of June and August, 2021 to better understand the ongoing climate action efforts in the tourism sector. The milestone survey was completed by 1,139 representatives from destinations, businesses (mainly accommodation and tour operators), and supporting organizations from 131 countries. 1 IPCC 6th Assessment Report Press Release, 4 April 2022, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/resources/press/press-release. 2 IPCC 6th Assessment Report, Technical Summary, page TS-23, https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6wg3/pdf/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_FinalDraft_TechnicalSummary.pdf 3 Lenzen, M.; Sun, Y.-Y.; Ting, Y.-P.; Geschkle, A. and Malik A. (2018), ‘The carbon footprint of global tourism’, Nature Climate Change, volume 8, pp. 522–528, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0141-x. 4 World Tourism Organization and International Transport Forum (2019), Transport-related CO2 Emissions of the Tourism Sector – Modelling Results, UNWTO, Madrid, DOI: https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284416660. This report provides a summary of the findings and insights gathered from these respondents on the state of climate action planning, mitigation efforts, measurement of emissions, adaptation and engagement of stakeholders. The results confirm that destinations and the businesses operating within them are experiencing multiple climate change-related impacts across a wide variety of contexts and locations - from reduced snowpack to increased wildfire activity in mountain areas, to floods and drought in coastal and desert areas. The findings also reveal an activist spirit within the sector, where for example a majority of respondents say they are ‘taking climate action’, even without the guidance of a plan. The sense of urgency is apparent among respondents, yet most lack an emissions measurement approach and report needing additional support to take consistent action. The results of the global survey provide the basis for this Baseline Report on Climate Action in Tourism, from which the tourism sector can chart a course forward and point clearly to the need for the rapid development of tools and education to support stakeholders. This report was led by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) and is released in collaboration with UN Climate Change (UNFCCC). A team of researchers from California State University, Monterey Bay, San Francisco State University, and Texas A&M University designed the survey and provided results and analysis along with Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency. The survey was implemented within the framework of the Sustainable Tourism Programme of the One Planet Network and in collaboration with UNFCCC.
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