Towards a Low Carbon Travel & Tourism Sector

In anticipation of the United Nations climate conference COP 15, global business leaders came together at the World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen last month. There, the World Economic Forum presented a report titled “Towards a Low Carbon Travel and Tourism Sector” that was a collaboration between the United Nations and several key organizations. The study opens a discussion on how to shift progressively towards a sustainable low-carbon lifestyle and analyzes the impact of the travel and tourism sector on carbon emissions.

The expected growth of the tourism sector is 4% annually through 2035, and without further emissions reductions measures, carbon output may outpace that. The study points out how governments, industry stakeholders and consumers can collectively improve the sustainability of travel, which will enable the sector to be a point of sustainable economic development for much of the world. There’s an opportunity to fix environmental and social problems while we fix this economy, let’s hope they get it right this fall at the meeting. To read the full report, click here.