SUNx Issues First Annual Climate Friendly Travel Report
New York City, New York (USA) – September 25, 2019 (travelindex.com) – A landmark report issued today by SUNx, in conjunction with the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) on the sidelines of the UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit and the parallel WTTC Travel & Tourism Summit, calls for intensified greenhouse gas emission reduction from the tourism industry.
The SUNx Climate Friendly Travel Report analyses the evolving Paris Climate Framework with its hardening 2050 greenhouse gas reduction goals and lower than 1.5-degree temperature increase trajectory. It concludes that:
- The Climate Crisis is real and existential, stressing that the world is reaching a tipping point.
- The Travel & Tourism Sector is generally behind the crisis response trend and will fall further behind without urgent industry- and government-committed climate action programs.
- There is still an opportunity to change course, but there need to be clear emission reduction initiatives across the total supply and demand chains.
- Travel and Tourism must align with the evolving Paris 2050 Climate Neutral targets and conduct its operations accordingly at community, company and consumer levels. The report highlighted that, while the Travel and Tourism sector has been a leading champion, other sectors and coalitions are doing as much, if not more and that it’s time to excel.
- Climate Friendly Travel ~ measured: green: 2050 proof ~ must rapidly become the new norm.
In addition, the report specifically calls for action to:
- Rein in aviation, maritime and road transport emissions associated with Travel and Tourism
- Accelerate research and deployment of safe, synthetic aircraft and cruise ship fuel, through a concentrated multi-stakeholder moon-shot program
- Create systems of incentives and penalties to encourage rapid introduction of climate-resilient business strategies and more intensive, ambitious emission reduction targets
- Build on WTTC leadership initiatives, in close collaboration with UNFCCC, for a more focused climate-responsive sector.
Research and analysis for the report were led by Professor Geoffrey Lipman, co-founder of SUNx, a legacy program for Maurice Strong the father of Sustainable Development. Lipman said, “With this first annual Climate Friendly Travel Report, issued under the patronage of the government of Malta and in collaboration with WTTC, we hope to help the industry better understand the immense danger of existential climate change to the world as we know it and to focus on what is needed for urgent response.”
He added, “The weather patterns on which our sector has traditionally based its markets, operating plans and investment, are changing rapidly and the window for responsive action is closing fast. We hope this first report and future annual editions, as well as our new Malta Global Registry of Emission Reduction Ambitions, will be a catalyst for change.”
The full version of the report can be viewed here:
About SUNx
The Strong Universal Network SUNx is a program of the Malta-based, not for profit Green Growth and Travel Institute, and a legacy to the late Maurice Strong – Sustainable Development Pioneer. Its goal is to promote Climate Friendly Travel with good & bad effects measured and managed coherently: with Green Growth at the core and, 2050-proof in line with the Paris Accords, and the W.E.F. 4th Industrial Revolution.
For more information, please contact:
Olly Wheatcroft: olly@thesunprogram.com
+44 (0) 7765 132408
or
Paul Wilke
paul@uprightcomms.com
+1 415-215-8750
