Carbon neutral tourist destinations

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Introduction

This publication reflects the importance attached by the tourism sector to the impacts of climate change
and contains valuable scientific and technical information. It also constitutes an important input in
the ongoing commitment of the United Nations to respond to the challenge of climate change. The
publication contains two distinct parts.
The first, entitled “The International Debate” collects the main results of a series of events focused on
climate change and tourism, which took place in the second half of 2007. The participants at the Davos
International Conference (1-3 October 2007) adopted a Declaration, which represents the position of
a wide spectrum of tourism stakeholders from the public and the private sector. The Davos Declaration
acknowledges the urgency to further assess the impacts deriving from the relation between tourism and
climate change and sets out directions for common actions from the tourism sector. At the Ministerial
Summit held in London on 13 November 2007 and at the UNWTO General Assembly (Cartagena de
Indias, Colombia, 23-29 November 2007) the Davos Declaration was extensively reviewed, and a
number of important considerations, which complement and further elaborate on its content, were
discussed and adopted.
The London Conclusions and the Resolution adopted by UNWTO Member States in Colombia reflect
the consensus reached in these forums and reiterate some key messages: climate change should be
addressed without losing sight of other priorities, especially poverty alleviation and tourism contribution
to the Millennium Development Goals; there should be no discrimination against developing countries
by creating obstacles to their economic development; financial resources should be secured for those
especially vulnerable to climate change; a disproportionate burden should not be imposed on the
tourism sector; and initiatives to address climate change in the tourism sector should be integrated
within the existing UN framework.
The second part is a technical report, which analyzes in detail the relations between tourism and
climate change, the impact of climate change at destinations, the adaptation options and strategies and
the implications for tourism demand patterns. The report contains as well the first detailed assessment
ever made of greenhouse gas emissions from tourism related activities, together with an analysis of
mitigation policies and measures.
This study was committed by UNWTO, in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), to a team of prominent experts, with reviews
by relevant staff of the three international organizations as well as by other external reviewers. UNWTO
elaborated a set of tourism statistical data to be used for the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions
while the expert’s team took responsibility for the scientific aspects of the technical study relating to
climate change, which are based on the broader research carried out by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC). The Annexes contain a detailed description on methodology and terminology
used for these calculations. A summary of the preliminary findings of this report was presented at the
Davos Conference, and it is included as the executive summary of this report.

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