WTTC Publishes World’s First Global Travel Climate Footprint Data
Groundbreaking new data has been unveiled by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) detailing the climate footprint that the global Travel and Tourism sector is making.
In a statement released on Tuesday, November 29, the WTTC emphasised that previous calculations and reports had suggested that the global Travel and Tourism sector held responsibility for up to 11 per cent of all emissions, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
In addition, pioneering WTTC research has shown that in 2019 the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions amounted to only 8.1 per cent globally.
WTTC data reveal that during the period 2010-2019, the GDP of the agency sector has increased by an average of 4.3 per cent per year. As for its environmental footprint, it has only increased by 2.4 per cent.
WTTC President and CEO Julia Simpson also pointed out that until now, there has yet to be a sector-wide way to measure the climate footprint accurately.
According to her, the data provided by the WTTC will give governments the detailed information which is necessary to make progress against the Paris Agreement and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
“Travel & Tourism is making huge strides to decarbonise, but Governments must set the framework. We need a steely focus on increasing the production of Sustainable Aviation fuels with Government incentives. The technology exists. We also need greater use of renewable energy in our national grids so when we turn on a light in a hotel room, it is using a sustainable energy source,” she also noted.
As President Simpson explains, “8.1 per cent is the stake in the earth”, adding that the key for everyone to become efficient by decoupling the rate at which the earth’s population grows from the amount of energy it consumes.
In this regard, the Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, SH.T. Ahmed Al-Khateeb, said they are proud to consider collaborating with WTTC on this necessary research that aims to impact the future.
Moreover, Minister Al-Khateeb emphasised that his country admitted that they are aware that travellers and investors want policies which promote sustainability in the industry. At the same time, Saudi Arabia is working on projects that aim to make the Kingdom a pioneer in sustainable tourism.
He also revealed that last year more than 60 initiatives were launched under the Saudi Green Initiative, adding that the first wave of initiatives represents more than 186 billion dollars of investment in the green economy.
