University of Waterloo experts: Addressing Tourism’s Climate cost

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

The inaugural Tourism and Climate Change Stocktake report has been unveiled by the Tourism Panel on Climate Change (TPCC) in conjunction with the UN COP-28 Climate Conference. The report, consisting of 24 key findings, is designed to provide support to policymakers and the tourism sector in their efforts to expedite planning and investment towards global tourism that is both low in carbon emissions and resilient to climate change.

Professor Daniel Scott, a climate change and sustainable tourism expert from the University of Waterloo, took the helm as co-lead for this endeavor, alongside Professor Susanne Becken from Griffith University in Australia. The TPCC, a network comprising more than 60 prominent international experts in tourism and climate, hails from over 30 different countries.

“In 2023, the world bore witness to a remarkable succession of climate-related records, rendering the impacts of climate change on travel and tourism no longer a matter of conjecture,” remarked Scott. “Regrettably, only a handful of tourism authorities have directed their attention towards the potentially monumental repercussions of climate-related hazards and the fundamental shift required to usher in climate-resilient tourism development.”

This Stocktake report assumes paramount importance as it stands as the pioneer in evaluating the progress and deficiencies within the realm of global tourism climate action.

Becken commented, “The key findings underscore the imperative for the entire tourism sector to expedite its efforts and move at an accelerated pace in order to significantly curtail tourism-related emissions and promote the development of climate-resilient tourism. The encouraging signs of progress, exemplary practices, and innovations we’ve identified must undergo rapid scaling if the tourism industry is to stay on course to meet its climate targets for 2030 and 2050.”

A substantial course correction is necessitated on a global scale within the sphere of travel and tourism. Scott added, “In numerous countries, tourism, which accounts for a substantial portion of the economy, is conspicuously absent from their national climate change policies. Tourism, however, has the potential to play a pivotal role in climate action, safeguarding destinations and the livelihoods reliant on the tourism sector.”

“The fate of global tourism remains within our purview. Achieving transformative change in governance, policy alignment, financial commitments, and travel choices is a collective responsibility shared by the global tourism community. Failing to address climate change jeopardizes the very essence of sustainable tourism.”

Some of the noteworthy findings encompass:

1. Tourism is expanding at a rate surpassing that of the global economy, with a growing tendency towards longer-distance travel, resulting in higher emissions.
2. Approximately eight to ten percent of global emissions emanate from tourism, primarily concentrated in high-income countries, which serve as both origins and destinations for travelers.
3. Tourism, air travel, and cruise tourism are projected to fall short of their 2030 emissions reduction targets.
4. Although the greenhouse gas emission intensity of hotel operations has shown gradual improvements in select regional markets, further acceleration and global expansion are required to meet the 2030 emission reduction objectives.
5. Certain forms of tourism, such as low-elevation ski tourism, beach tourism in highly erodible coastal areas, and some nature-based tourism, will become unviable at certain locations due to escalating climate-related hazards and limitations in adaptation measures.
6. Despite an upsurge in sectoral climate commitments, tourism policy has yet to be fully integrated into global or national climate change frameworks, with most national tourism policies or plans affording limited consideration to climate change.

The report additionally highlights that governments and international development assistance continue to invest in tourism infrastructure susceptible to climate impacts and characterized by high greenhouse gas emissions, while industry training and educational programs within the tourism sector remain exceedingly limited.

Among the contributors to this report from the University of Waterloo was Associate Professor Michelle Rutty.

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