Climate change has now emerged as a serious area for study, research, advocacy and action. It is now well established that the South will be seriously devastated by climate change and global warming. The debate intensifies when Northern countries while admitting their responsibility in global warming are reluctant to take appropriate steps towards an effective mitigation outcome. First World industry, often with the support of their governments, appear to wish to go no further than carbon offsets and carbon trading mechanisms such as REDD and CDM schemes in the South but are unwilling to adopt mitigation strategies within their own countries which is where the root causes of climate change lie. In the South, this is regarded as an insufficient response in that the North fails to act responsibly. While the dire consequences of worsening climate change and global warming are generally accepted by both the North and South, there is little progress in adopting the required effective and rigorous mitigation and adaptation regime for the planet as COP 15 in Copenhagen has showed.
ECOT pays major attention to the issues relating to tourism and climate change by carrying out a robust advocacy and lobby work required in the face of an attitude expressed by the UNWTO Deputy Secretary-General Geoffrey Lipman who asserted : ‘You can’t walk to the Maldives. We want more planes flying, not less’ .
This is troubling in light of the fact that aviation alone contributes 4.9% of the emissions caused by tourism, while tourism contributes up to 9% to global warming. It is even forecast that carbon emissions from tourism will grow by 162% in the period 2005-2035 . The tourism sector is also notorious for its high per capita consumption of water, poor energy efficiency, waste management issues, which leads to serious negative environmental and social impacts.
Climate change is a global challenge that concerns each and every one of us, and the tourism industry should take its fair share of responsibility in this challenge. It is now widely acknowledged that tourism, apart from being part of the cause, will also be a victim of climate change when touristic destinations such as the Maldives and the Pacific islands are affected by rising seas and snow capped mountains lose their snow due to global warming and become unattractive to tourists.
ECOT has the credentials to engage with climate change and tourism issues in terms of policy positions, dissemination of information, and advocacy and lobby work. It has the capacity for oversighting research, and enjoys links with grassroots groups around the world, as for instance ECOT’s involvement with the DPPM programme has shown. After a feasibility study and field research following the Tsunami that devastated shore-based communities in several Asian countries and claimed more than 230.000 lives, ECOT with the assistance of EED implemented a Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Management Programme (DPPM), aimed at supporting the populations living in Tsunami-affected areas to reconstruct their lives and to help with the mitigation of the adverse effects of tourism. This programme promoted environmentally community-based tourism to provide sustainable livelihoods to the communities, and empowered hem with skills and knowledge to prepare for the impact of future disasters.
With DPPM as a base, especially during 2008 - 2009, ECOT has been involved with grassroots groups to raise awareness and engagement regarding the impact of climate change on local communities. As part of this work programme, ECOT, in collaboration with EED and other partners, presented a series of side events for different audiences during the UNFCCC talks in Bangkok preparing for COP15. All such work culminated with ECOT participating in a side event at COP15 in Copenhagen. It presented a position paper - ‘Climate Justice and Tourism’ - providing a South perspective on climate change and the tourism industry, calling for the mitigation of its emissions and the adoption of a more people-centered perspective in its decision-making. This position paper was widely circulated internationally via international media, and publications of aid and development agencies, Church bodies like the WCC, and in other ways.
