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How to make tourism greener

2007-11-15 06:07:58

By Stephanie Holmes

BBC News

International tourism can play the role of both victim and villain when it

comes to climate change.

It needs balmy weather, corals and coastlines - all under threat from rising

temperatures and climate change.

But it also depends on energy-guzzling jumbo jets, air-conditioned hotel

complexes and swimming pools kept pristine with environmentally damaging

chemicals.

With the sector contributing to some 5% of global carbon emissions, its impact

cannot be ignored.

"We have to talk about tourism and climate change," says Stefanos Fotiou of the

United Nations Environment Programme (Unep).

"Tourism cannot grow sustainably without addressing the challenges of climate

change."

Balancing the boom

The most recent figures from the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) suggest

that the industry continues to expand, with 610 million international tourist

arrivals in the first eight months of 2007, 32 million more than in the same

period last year.

The number is expected to swell to 1.6 billion by 2020.

Experts from the UNWTO say that industry is waking up to its responsibilities,

aware that fuelling climate change, which degrades the very environment on

which tourism depends, could undermine its business in the long term.

"A phenomenon of such magnitude cannot remain without consequences for the

climate," UNWTO chief Francesco Frangialli told delegates at the World Tourism

Market in London, where hundreds of representatives from the sector have

gathered.

At least 60 tourism ministers have pledged to back a declaration drafted in

Davos in October, committing to take "concerted action against climate change".

The agreement aims to adapt tourism to climate change, to mitigate its effects,

to increase the use of alternative technologies and to channel funding for such

efforts towards poorer countries, many of whom depend on tourism for a sizeable

chunk of their economies.

Tourism is the primary source of foreign exchange earnings in 46 out of 50 of

the world's least developed countries, according to the UNWTO.

The declaration contains no specific targets but for Geoffrey Lipman, of the

UNWTO, it demonstrates governments' awareness of the balance between tourism

and climate change.

"It's a first step on a road towards achieving targets. We wouldn't be here if

we weren't committed to playing a part in the global response."

Breathing space

As a state dependent on long-haul tourism, Sri Lanka is one of the nations

leading the way.

With 30% rainforest cover and home to 3,000 Asian elephants, the island has

pledged to become an Earth Lung - a completely carbon clean sovereign state.

"Sri Lanka is a biodiversity hotspot," the country's Tourism Minister Renton de

Alwis said.

The wide variety of flora and fauna indigenous to Sri Lanka's unique ecosystem

makes it particularly vulnerable to climactic shifts.

"It is both an advantage and a responsibility for us. Little Sri Lanka has come

up with the initiative to make us a carbon-neutral destination," Mr de Alwis

said.

This will involve establishing codes of practice for the various tourism

sectors, promoting reforestation and encouraging the use of alternative energy

sources.

But other representatives from countries who depend on long-haul travel

expressed reservations about targeting tourism to tackle climate change.

Australia warned against demonising aviation, Brazil insisted it should not

shoulder a "disproportionate burden" and India pointed out that the best form

of adaptation to climate change is development.

Dramatic action

But for many environmental lobbyists, any attempt to really alter tourism's

impact on the planet must by definition, be drastic.

If I hear the words 'carbon offsetting' once more, I will scream. These kind of

papal indulgences were sold in the Middle Ages

Jeff Gazzard, Aviation Environment Federation

"Business as usual is not going to move us towards a carbon neutral world,"

said Jeff Gazzard, of the Aviation Environment Federation, who nevertheless

welcomes the Davos declaration.

He insists that industry, as well as governments, must tackle the core issues,

rather than trying to rid themselves of responsibility through measures like

carbon offsetting - where individuals or companies balance their carbon output

by financing green projects.

"If I hear the words 'carbon offsetting' once more, I will scream. These kind

of papal indulgences were sold in the Middle Ages. It is like paying someone

else to give up smoking," he said.

Any improvements in plane or fuel technology, he said, would be outpaced by

growth in the sector, which expands by 3-4% per year.

Aviation spewed out some 610 mega-tons of carbon each year, he points out, more

than the world's fourth biggest economy - the UK.

He predicts that, by 2010 the figure will rise to 776 mega-tons and, by 2025,

it will reach 1,228 mega-tons.

He proposes a hefty passenger tax on aviation of 3.6 pence (74 cents) per

kilometre which would flatten demand growth to 1-2% each year.

"This is an industry wedded to kerosene," he said. "There is no tax on aviation

of any meaningful variety."

Changing behaviour

One powerful driver which lobbyists, governments and industry specialists agree

upon is consumers, who can shape policy with their decisions.

This trend has spawned the rise of a wealth of options such as responsible or

eco-tourism which seek to reconcile environmental impact with local benefit.

European tour operator Tui Travel, which provides vacations for 30 million

customers per year, says clients are increasingly asking about the carbon

impact when booking their holidays, even if is the last thing on their minds

when they actually arrive.

The company is pioneering a scheme to rate the energy efficiency of hotels,

expecting that customer demand will transform behaviour as tour operators

withdraw from unsustainable hotels and destinations.

It is a trend that the Unep encourages. "With your choices you can make tourism

respond to climate change," says Mr Fotiou.