Launched at the start of carbon monoxide awareness week, the Safer Tourism Foundation will fund research and raise awareness of travel risks.
The new charity comes nine years after the deaths of Christi and Bobby Shepherd on a Thomas Cook Holiday in Corfu.
The tour operator was roundly criticised for its behaviour, which came to light in an inquest into the children’s deaths earlier this year.
A report written by Justin King released this month said the tour operator put profit before people.
The foundation has initial funding of £1 million and will look to partner with academic institutions and the wider industry including Abta.
Peter Fankhauser, chief executive of Thomas Cook, said: “The deaths of Christi and Bobby Shepherd represent the darkest hour in the history of Thomas Cook. We are grateful to be working with Sharon Wood to launch the Safer Tourism Foundation.
"By funding detailed research into carbon monoxide and campaigning for legislative change in the UK and Europe, the foundation aims to effect real change."
Sharon Wood, the mother of Christi and Bobby, said: “The way in which one of the largest and most respected tour operators has treated Christi and Bobby’s family is well documented, hard to forgive and impossible to forget.
“With the Safer Tourism Foundation, Thomas Cook have offered a viable initiative to raise the profile of carbon monoxide and improve carbon monoxide safety both in the UK and abroad.”
Mary Creagh, the Labour MP for Wakefield, who brought the matter up in parliament and played a leading role in holding Thomas Cook to account, hosted an event to kick-off the campaign.
Creagh said: “Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week is an opportunity to take stock of the progress that has been made in raising awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide in the years since Christi and Bobby’s tragic deaths.
"Wakefield coroner David Hinchliff was clear that new laws are needed at UK and EU level to protect families on holiday, and that the medical profession needs to be more systematic in recognising carbon monoxide poisoning."
