No COP OUT ON CLIMATE!!!

Guest blog by Geoffrey Lipman leads SUN. Former top exec in IATA, WTTC and UNWTO, Geoffrey is President of ICTP and the Green Growth Travelism Institute (GGTI), as well as a Visiting Professor at Hasselt University, Belgium & Victoria University Australia.

The COP26 Glasgow Race to Zero and its pathway of Net Carbon Zero 2050 was crafted by the UK hosts long before IPCC 6 - which UNSG Antonio Guterres called " A Code Red for Humanity."  Given this warning and the reality of accelerating and intensifying extreme weather, SUNx Malta iscalling for a DASH-2-Zero for the influential Travel & Tourism sector.  Pushing for further action faster. Yes, to Net Zero Carbon, but by 2030 and a commitment to NO GHG 2050. DASH means Declare & Act with Support & Hope. We are training 100,000 young Strong Climate Champions across all UN States by 2030. Together with our SDG17 partners we are offering a UNFCCC linked Registry of Accelerated Ambition and free support for the trailblazers who work with us. We are doing this for our kids, inspired by the late Maurice Strong - Climate Activist half a century ago

Today’s climate reality is dramatically starker than Paris in 2015.

The latest IPCC Report says we are close to 1.2 degrees already of the Paris target of 1.5 degrees. Heading to more than 3 degrees by 2050. UN Secretary General Guterres has called this “A Code Red for Humanity”.

This year will be the hottest ever in modern history. We are seeing crazy flooding in China and in Europe; massive heatwaves and uncontrollable forest fires in Canada, USA, Australia, Brazil and even Siberia – where the permafrost is melting. Dramatic Hurricanes in the Caribbean devastating whole islands. Drought in Africa. And rapid melting of Polar Icecaps, threatening more flood devastation

As we approach COP 26 we know that States are again gearing up to take responsive action – the Race to Zero campaign is a major point of focus – and for the important Travel & Tourism sector there will be a Glasgow Declaration- following on the 2003 Djerba Declaration and the 2007 Davos Declaration.

We need ACTION urgently on two fronts

First long-term transformation. Significantly increased discipline away from fossil fuel to a clean energy economy, and sustainable lifestyles. Taking full advantage of technology breakthroughs. From electric cars, high speed trains, sustainably fueled planes: to energy efficient hotels, and rewilding in our cities - where so much of the pollution stems from. And much faster timescales.

Second Significantly greater collaboration to ramp up Resilience today. To respond to increasingly severe and unpredictable weather extremes. Which will only get worse. More death & destruction. More starving & homeless. new infrastructure and operational systems. For protection from floods, fires, droughts, famine, and climate refugees. And, importantly, a new global compact with nature to strengthen biodiversity, using tourist funds for conservation. This isn't about 2050 or even 2030. It’s about Now   Small Island and Developing States are the most exposed. Nowhere will this be more crucial than in Africa, where the market of a billion young people will come into its own in the next decade as a socio-economic force.

Today’s young people are key to a better future.

They will be tomorrow’s markets, tomorrow’s researchers, tomorrow’s leaders. As Greta Thunberg recently said “We are the ones who will have to pick up the mess you adults have made”

In SUNx Malta- we are keeping our focus on this next generation,

Our small Foundation, supported by the Government of Malta and inspired by the late Maurice Strong - pioneer Climate Activist half a century ago, we are promoting Climate Friendly Travel - low carbon: SDG linked: Paris 1.5:

And we want our sector to go further: faster. Driven by the Code Red urgency.

With a Transformation and Resilience support system tied to the UN 2030/2050 green & clean roadmap for humanity, From net zero carbon 2030 to Zero GHG  2050.  We call it our Strong DASH to Zero  - Declare &: Act with Support & Hope. Without hope we have nothing.

We underpin this vision with concrete programs for a UN linked Registry of Climate Friendly Travel Leaders. Together with a rapidly growing support services network of SDG 17 Partners. And 100,000 Strong Climate Champions in place globally over the next decade, to support company and community change. Together with Malta's Institute of Tourism Studies, we have launched recruitment and training to create a vibrant global community of young Strong Climate Champions to help deliver the existential change.  

Long-term Transformation and short-term Resilience, going hand in hand NOW

 



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