Climate Change and Tourism: Call for Action by Civil Society Groups

[TourismScan]

The world’s leaders are now meeting in Copenhagen for negotiating a
Post-Kyoto agreement being in place by 2012. It is broadly
acknowledged that this new climate deal must ensure that average
global warming will remain below the dangerous threshold of 2 degrees.
In order to meet this global challenge, every nation, every industry
sector and every human being will need to take on a fair share of the
mitigation burden. Besides that, those who were and are most
responsible for greenhouse gas emissions must pay their climate debts
and provide developing countries with substantial funds for coping
with the inevitable impacts of global warming such as natural
disasters, sea level rise, food shortage or mass migration.

The global tourism industry is a significant contributor to climate
change. ECOT and some partner agencies will have the opportunity to
dialogue with some representatives of the tourism industry during a
side event taking place in Copenhagen on December 10th. It is time to
call for the tourism sector to mitigate its emissions and to operate a
paradigm shift to place people, and not profits, at the centre of its
developments.

The following position paper ‘Climate Change and Tourism: Call for
Action by Civil Society Groups’, written by ECOT and endorsed by a
number of organisations, will be presented during this side event.
You will find the pdf version of this paper in our file section of
‘TourismScan’.

Your comments are welcome,
ECOT team

CLIMATE CHANGE AND TOURISM: CALL FOR ACTION BY CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS

A Statement by the Ecumenical Coalition On Tourism (ECOT),
endorsed by Acció per un Turisme Responsible (ATR), Alba
Sud, Alternative Tourism Group (ATG), Asian Muslim Action
Network, Asian Resource Foundation, Caritas Asia, Christian
Conference of Asia, Coastal Development Partnership (CDP),
Commission on Justice, Peace and Creation of National Council
of Churches India (NCCI), Echoway, EQUATIONS, Imagine Peace,
KABANI‐ the Other Direction, Korea Anabaptist Centre, Mangrove
Action Project (MAP), Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC),
Peace for Life (PfL), Christian Church of Bali (GKPB),
Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Manajemen Dhyana Pura (STIM DP– School
of Advanced Scientific Management).


Climate Justice and Tourism

People are at the heart of this call to action. Local
communities in developing societies who have contributed least
to global warming will be among the first to suffer its
dvastating consequences. Some are already experiencing them.

As with the overall model of development, climate change
illustrates the growing urgency for a paradigm shift in the
tourism industry, a sprawling industry ever in search of new
destinations, including some to replace those threatened or
disappearing due to global warming! In order to meet the
challenge of ensuring that global warming remains below the
dangerous threshold of 2 degrees Centigrade, every nation,
every industry sector and every human being is called to
take on a fair share of the mitigation burden. This call
is directed to the tourism industry too.

Greenhouse gas emissions – contributions from tourism

The global tourism industry is a significant contributor to
climate change. However, it should be noted that just 2 %
of the world’s population actively takes part in air
passenger transport1, contributing to tourism’s share of
global warming which is up to 12.5 % (if non‐CO2 effects
are taken into account)2. Aviation alone contributes 4.9% of
this.

Alarmingly, it is forecast that carbon emissions from tourism will
grow by 162% in the period 2005-2035 . This is only to be expected as
massive expansion of airports and increase in low-cost carriers pave
the way for such growth in emissions. Moreover, the tourism industry
is notorious for high per capita consumption of water, poor energy
efficiency, waste management issues, which leads to serious negative
environmental and social impacts.

The kind of issues the world community will face arising from the
effects of climate change and its link to tourism is provided by the
Maldives in Asia. It is now well accepted that the sea level rise due
to global warming threatens to fully submerge the islands in the
coming years, a point dramatically made recently by the Maldivian
government holding its Cabinet meeting underwater! What will be the
fate of the Maldivian citizens who will be forced to become refugees
from climate change when their home is submerged, as is plausible if
global warming continues apace? And yet tourists, whose emissions are
contributing to such a situation, are still encouraged to go to the
Maldives, perhaps to enjoy a last ‘before it is too late’ experience.
The Pacific is another region where the islands are under threat from
global warming.

Integration of international aviation and maritime transport into
mitigation agreements

The travel industry claims to be aware of their climate responsibility
and to aspire to reduce carbon emissions throughout its value chain.
Mere statements and “aspirations” are not enough. International air
transport is the biggest source of tourism emissions, but still
remains exempt from the Kyoto Protocol. In the last 12 years, no
noticeable progress in creating an appropriate climate regulation
regime for bunker emissions (emissions from aviation and shipping) has
been achieved – a responsibility which was given in 1997 to the
aviation and shipping sector itself. No concrete measures to reduce
the emissions have been proposed, and as a result of this serious
negligence, emissions from the sector have increased considerably
during this period. Both the IMO (International Maritime Organization)
and the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) have been
finding ways to escape their responsibilities since the Kyoto
Protocol. Given the urgency induced by the global need to ensure the
less than 2 degrees threshold, such an irresponsible performance is
not acceptable anymore. It is now crucial that the UNFCCC includes
bunker emissions in its regulations by pursuing ‘a cooperative
sectoral approach, with Parties collaborating to reduce emissions that
occur in international space’ , thus guaranteeing that revenues will
be spent in developing countries. Developing countries must be the
beneficiaries.

Sustainable mitigation needed – Biofuels a false hope

Sensitive to the charge that they are unconcerned about the climate
change impact of flying but still adhering to the growth path, the
aviation industry and the tourism sector have recently been hailing
the development of “sustainably grown biofuels”. The United Nations
World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is also waiting “for the earliest
possible global introduction of sustainable aviation biofuels.” These
so-called sustainable biofuels constitute a panacea so that the
‘business-as-usual’ mode can continue.

Are biofuels the answer? Environmental and development organisations
claim that these alleged “sustainable biofuels” lack appropriate
safeguards. Using them on high commercial levels simply cannot be
sustainable. Massive land, resources and energy will be needed, so
that the outcome cannot really contribute to reducing global warming.
Using agrofuels for commercial aviation will only shift climate
problems to other areas such as environmental or social concerns
including fresh water shortages, soil run-off and erosion,
deforestation, space use, endangered food security. Food shortages and
the consequent community anger have the potential in some countries to
endanger national security.

So far, these “sustainable biofuels” cause more problems than they
solve. If the next generation of biofuels, such as algae, looks
promising – as they are not expected to cause further social or
environmental problems - it will take years before these sources can
be used. Global warming does not give us the luxury of time to remain
inactive and wait for new solutions. Action is needed now and biofuels
appear to constitute another false hope.

Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM)

Alarmingly, the UNWTO put up for discussion the proposition that “Some
Clean Development Mechanism and Emission Trading projects and trading
revenues be earmarked for specific allotment to related aviation and
tourism projects…” The experience suggests that while on the one hand,
CDM projects from big enterprises might be able to create employment
and reduce emissions, on the other hand, CDM was misused greatly by
Western companies to offset emissions in the South instead of in the
North, therefore not tackling the problem at its roots. CDM has become
a moneymaking tool, and even though its basic requirement is to
finance climate friendly projects, research done by independent NGOs
such as International River Organisation or CDM-Watch show the
opposite. Many ‘business-as-usual’ projects were financed by CDM.

In this context it is not acceptable that UNWTO considers raising
income through CDM applied to tourism and aviation development. Both
the tourism and aviation industries should consider mitigation of
their emissions as an integral part of their decision making and
business operations, which should also include climate responsibility.
Communities and movements in the Global South have expressed a clear
stand that market-based mechanisms such as CDM and carbon trading are
false solutions. As a major source of emissions, Northern countries
need to mitigate their emissions in their own countries. Furthermore,
the call for climate justice implies that, having acknowledged their
responsibility for GHG emissions, Northern countries should be
prepared to make substantial financial transfers to the South for
coping with the inevitable impact of global warning, such as natural
disasters, sea level rise, food shortage or mass migration.

Poverty alleviation: the myths of tourism

The UNWTO, like some tourism dependent nations, argues that a
regulative framework for limiting growth of emissions from shipping
and aviation could have negative impacts on tourism revenues that
contribute to poverty alleviation in developing countries (so-called
“Spillover Effects”). As a highly globalised economic sector, tourism
is often viewed as a development motor, benefitting the poor. The
groups endorsing this Call for Action state from their experience that
the idea that tourism alleviates poverty is a myth, and this is
substantiated by research . While it is acknowledged by civil
society that climate response policies must not undermine development
outcomes that are appropriate and genuinely beneficial to third world
poor communities, there is concern expressed with regard to the
distribution of tourism revenues. It must be questioned how much of
the income generated from tourism contributes to the national and
local economy with what part of this eventually reaching the poor and
does not ‘leak out’ from developing economies through foreign-owned
tour operators, airlines, cruise companies, hotel chains, and food and
drink imports (in turn relating to the unsustainable consumption
patterns tourism promotes). As well, through the market laws of
supply and demand created by tourism, the supply of limited vital
resources inflates prices beyond the reach of the local population. As
well, natural resources are diverted for the sake of tourists in
search of a pleasurable time around a swimming pool or in a golf
course to the detriment of local populations struggling to access
water for their everyday needs.

The endorsing NGOs express their grave concern about UNWTO’s lack of a
people-centred, community perspective in relation to climate change
and tourism policies. We must raise critical questions, such as who
really benefits from tourism? Why do the poorest people, who are the
least responsible for the negative impacts of tourism, suffer the
most? Why do they have to pay the carbon bill others have caused? What
is the logic of relying too much on international travel that is
contributing to rising sea levels and devastating millions of people’s
livelihood through its carbon emissions and ill effects? We are
concerned that well-known problems will just worsen in climate change
disaster aftermaths. These include problems caused by international
tourism such as land conflicts, struggle for water access, missing
mechanisms of social security, commercial sexual exploitation of
children or sex tourism. Hence disaster prevention measures in tourism
should be part of the response to the climate change challenge. CSR
strategies should be implemented in order to genuinely protect people,
not just as an attractive self promotion means. Such considerations
should be part of the basis to shape climate justice policies that are
most beneficial to the local communities.

While tourism may bring economic benefit to few in the shorter term,
in many places such benefits are likely to be overshadowed by the
impact of climate change and other negative impacts of tourism. The
propagators of so called tourism development should therefore rethink
their strategies and take into account the fact that tourism is not a
viable option for the poor and should not be promoted as a development
model for poor nations. The threats caused by tourism to climate
change and vice versa very clearly show that tourism is not a
sustainable livelihood option for the communities (especially the
poorer sections). The idea of creating poor nations’ dependency on an
industry like tourism that is highly vulnerable to many external
factors needs to be questioned.

A paradigm shift

A broad and urgent paradigm shift is called for the tourism sector.
The following delineates the dimensions of such a shift with a people-
centred approach, and the appropriate actions needed.

• The tourism sector does not come under any emission regulations.
This must change. Binding reduction targets must be compulsorily
imposed - 40% by 2020, with a base year of 1990. In this regard, an
action plan based on UNWTO’s “Davos Declaration” that is measurable
and transparent must be developed and binding.

• Given the position it holds, UNWTO needs to set for its members
clear emission reduction targets with timelines rather than leave it
to self regulation which has been ineffective, and is unacceptable.
National governments that determine and implement policies for tourism
should be held accountable for climate impact outcomes resulting from
them.

• Accurate and reliable methods to calculate emissions in tourism,
including carbon and non-carbon emissions, should be used.
Additionally, social and environmental disclosure of tourism
practices, like disclosing carbon footprint or eco balance as a method
of accountability, is also necessary to raise consumer awareness.

• Market-based mechanisms and false climate solutions such as CDM,
REDD, agrofuels, carbon trading are not acceptable. Facing the
dramatic acceleration of global warming, stated in the last IPCC
report, Annex-1 countries have to reduce their emissions at home.

• It is not acceptable that the tourism and aviation industries demand
support from emission trading or CDM to finance climate protection
measures. They should finance this themselves within their own core
business strategies and operations. As the industry showed Corporate
Social Irresponsibility in mitigating their own emissions, we ask for
binding regulative measures rather than rely on the industries’
voluntary efforts.

• Climate protection in tourism requires a significant transformation
of current forms of mass tourism and a serious engagement of
governments on this issue to reduce tourism’s climate change
footprint. Small scale, fair, just, people-centred and participatory
tourism, should be given a much higher attention.

• Nations highly dependent on tourism need to develop alternative
sources of income to become less dependent on this highly vulnerable
and often devastating industry.

• Disaster prevention measures should be incorporated within core
business operations of tourism industries including mechanisms of
social security, protection of women and children in tourism, labour
standards.

• A fair and just tourism model must be developed. This model should
be based on a labour rights-based approach and should ensure that pro-
labour standards are adhered to. Communities should also be able to
democratically share all benefits from tourism.

We call for the tourism industry to be conscious of the plight of
local communities: tourism does not always alleviate poverty and it
creates environmental and social damages, it often aggravates poverty
and undermines Millenium Development Goals. The profits gained from
tourism are repatriated to powerful investors, while its damaging
effects remain on the ground for local communities to suffer from both
in the short and long term. The link between tourism and climate
change cannot be denied anymore and it is now time for the tourism
industry to take measures that will take into account the people
without whom tourism would not be possible.

COP15, 7-18 December 2009
For further information: contact off...@ecotonline.org; Caesar
D’Mello: Tel + 66 53 240 026; Amélie Vignaud: +66 53 240 026

Endorsing agencies

Acció per un Turisme Responsible (ATR) - http://www.turismo-responsable.org/
Alba Sud - www.albasud.org
Alternative Tourism Group (ATG) - www.atg.ps
Asian Muslim Action Network - www.arf-asia.org/aman
Asian Resource Foundation - http://www.arf-asia.org/
Caritas Asia - http://www.caritas.org/worldmap/asia/index.html
Christian Conference of Asia - http://www.cca.org.hk/
Coastal Development Partnership (CDP) - http://www.cdpbd.org/
Commission on Justice, Peace and Creation of National Council of
Churches India (NCCI) - www.nccindia.in
Echoway - www.echoway.org/
EQUATIONS - http://www.equitabletourism.org/
Imagine Peace - www.imaginepeace.or.kr
KABANI, the Other Direction - www.kabani.org
Korea Anabaptist Centre - www.kac.or.kr
Mangrove Action Project (MAP) – http://www.mangroveactionproject.org/
Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) - http://www.pcc.org.fj
Peace for Life (PfL) - http://www.peaceforlife.org/
Christian Church of Bali (GKPB) -http://www.christianchurchbali.org/
Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Manajemen Dhyana Pura (STIM DP– School of Advanced
Scientific Management) - http://dhyanapura.ac.id/


References:

1 Peeters, P., Gössling, S., Becken, S. (2007): Innovation towards
Tourism Sustainability: Climate Change and Aviation. International
Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development. 1(3): 184-200.
2Scott, D., Peeters, P., and Gossling, S. 2010. Can tourism deliver
its ‘aspirational’ emission reduction targets? Journal of Sustainable
Tourism 18(2), in press.
3 Lee, D.S., et al. (2009): Aviation and global climate change in the
21st century. Atmospheric Environment, Volume 43, Issues 22-23, Pages
3520-3537. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
4 Peeters, P., Gössling, S., Becken, S. (2007): Innovation towards
Tourism Sustainability: Climate Change and Aviation. International
Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development. 1(3): 184-200.
CAN Position paper , Emissions from International Aviation and
Shipping.
Discussion paper on climate change mitigation measures for
international air transport, UNWTO, Madrid.
Ashley, C., Boyd, C., Goodwin, H. (2000): Pro-poor Tourism: Putting
Poverty at the Heart of the Tourism Agenda. In: Natural Resource
Perspectives No. 51. London: Overseas Development Institute and
Sustainable Living.
Leeds Development Education Centre, Tourism Concern (1993): The Final
Frontier?
Thai Institute for Development and Administration (1989). A Research
Report on Linkages and Leakages of Tourism Income in the Accommodation
and Travel Agency business.
IFC, World Bank, MIGA (2000): Tourism and Global Development.