The Glasgow Declaration is aimed at accelerating climate action in travel and tourism, committing signatories to cut tourism emissions at least by half over the next decade and to reach zero emissions “as soon as possible before 2050”.
The Declaration is named after the venue for the UN climate summit, which takes place in the Scottish city from 1 November.
The Declaration is backed by the Travel Foundation, the UN Environment Programme, the UN World Tourism Organisation, Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency and Visit Scotland, the first tourist board in the world to declare a climate emergency.
“This is the moment for travel and tourism to come together with a shared voice and a shared commitment for climate action,” said a Travel Foundation spokesperson.
Signatories must commit to key elements of the plan. They must measure and disclose all travel and tourism-related emissions and make them transparent and accessible to all.
They must also disclose decarbonisation efforts, covering transport, infrastructure, accommodation, activities, food and drink and waste management. Offsetting must be complementary to absolute reductions.
They must also pledge to restore ecosystems and support affected and at-risk communities.
The Declaration’s backers argue action is needed now, as according to latest research, tourism CO2 emissions grew at least 60% from 2005 to 2016, with transport-related CO2 causing 5% of global emissions in 2016.
“Unless we accelerate decarbonisation, sector CO2 emissions could rise 25% or more by 2030, compared to 2016,” they said.
