‘Plan B’ for Climate Friendly Travel – Learning from the Lessons of Maui

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"eXist is a must read for those who want to survive the eXistential Climate Crisis by acting now. Please share with a friend"

Welcome to the 20th edition of eXist the monthly e-bulletin of SUNx Malta.

‘Plan B’ for Climate Friendly Travel –
Learning from the Lessons of Maui

THERE IS NO PLANET ‘B’.

We are all travellers on spaceship earth, speeding towards an increasingly harsh future of agonizing heat, incessant forest fires, stronger hurricanes & floods - creating food & water shortages, & millions of climate refugees. Hell -fire on Maui is a harsh reminder. So too, disasters in Canada, China, Greece, Spain, Switzerland, Japan & South Korea.

ARE WE DELUSIONAL?

Do we somehow believe this is temporary: fixed by the globally choreographed net zero 2050 pathways & enroute waypoints: fed by personal carbon budgets, questionable offsets & magic future technology. Much of it curated in corporate board rooms, mega consultant & PR agencies. Legitimised in well-coordinated annual conferences, live-streamed worldwide onto mobile phones and daily news bulletins.
As a sector, tourism leadership has enthusiastically embraced this scenario. Organization after organization has tripped over themselves to take the pledge & carry on as close to business as usual as they can get away with. For the most part airports, airlines, cruises, hotels and booking systems are on board. Yet, if current planetary weather patterns continue as today, they will be facing radically changed operating conditions and tourism patterns in the next decade - covering products, seasons, traffic flows visitor and resident needs, as well as transformed cost and revenue streams.

TIME TO ACT

Not in 2029 in a mad scramble for 2030 targets or 2049 in a last gasp U-turn for 2050 but in 2023 for a measured precautionary action to ‘bend our trend’ (a call SUNx Malta has been making since 2019,) and peak emissions by 2025 as called for by the IPCC
So SUN^xMalta is again calling on all tourism stakeholders to establish a Plan B & urgently deal with the need to adapt and abate. To respond to intensifying weather extremes & to start serious ghg reduction now, peak in 2025, half by 2030 and hit Zero by 2050. We make this call for our Kids

PLAN B - A PLAN OUR KIDS

Our kids are on the front line of climate protests: in courts fighting fuel companies: demanding States fulfil international obligations They are calling us to account. We see 4 key questions to answer in responding:

Do we agree with Climate Scientist Michael Mann (The Hockey Stick) that this is the best year we have with the climate crisis – it can only get worse.
Do we agree that our world must act to support the IPCC call for GHG emissions to peak in 2025, if we are to meet the Paris 1.5 targets
Do we agree that Tourism has to play a full part in this transformation and communities and companies must act now.
Do we agree that there needs to be an Amendment to the 2021 Glasgow Declaration, to incorporate the 2022 IPCC call.

At SUNx Malta we know the right answer to these questions is YES. We believe like Aristotle, with a lever & place to stand, you can move the earth. Helping Tourism help our Kids, is where we stand: Climate Friendly Travel is our lever.
To be clear, we don’t suggest that Tourism must stop growing on 31st December 2025. But we are convinced that with good planning now we can deliver massive ithoughtful change for a distinctly different operating paradigm with Climate Friendly Travel a big part of it – for communities, companies & consumers.
We expect to hear that some sectors, particularly aviation, have special characteristics that make this impossible for society to exist without their continued growth – so we should examine this rationale against the survival of our grandkids. As realists we understand the big organizations have pinned their flags to the Net Zero 2030/2050 mast We will argue for a radical rethink.
For sure we will call on airports individually to cap flight operations unless they get the SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) that will allow aviation growth, and contain emissions. Some airports may even agree that the cap will help them move customers through security, with as much efficiency as through duty free.
We are looking to use the power of the internet to stimulate exchanges and help build support over the next 2 years. We will advocate and campaign ceaselessly. Because we are doing it for our kids and grandkids
We will look out for the world’s poorest countries and Small Island States – those least responsible for Climate melt down, but often the most at risk. Where Tourism really is an economic and development lifeline. They need special quotas & guarantees of SAF for Climate Justice. We will unwaveringly champion their cause. Our Climate Friendly Travel Chapters, Champions & Club will be the activist cohort and we will reach out to likeminded thinkers to fuel a global movement that will truly make tourism a champion for the future we need.

SUNx Malta
Extreme Weather Watch

Enjoy our latest PODCAST
Eduardo Santander PhD, Executive Director ETC

Join Ged Brown in his 20^th Podcast here - this time with Dr Eduardo Santander, the widely respected CEO of the European Travel Commission – one of our SDG 17 Partners . And learn about the challenges and the fun of heading up Europe’s major Tourism body, grouping the National Tourism Organizations of 35 European States.

Or click here to discover more of Ged’s trailblazing chats with companies who have signed on to the Free Climate Friendly Travel Registry and hear how they are developing their Climate Action Plans. Get inspired by the commitment to change.

50 FREE CFT Diploma Scholarships
For SIDS and other Developing States

Thanks to Malta’s Ministry of Tourism and the Institute for Tourism Studies, SUN^x Malta, will again offer 50 Scholarships - one for each of the 39 SIDS (Small Island Developing States) and 11 other developing countries from around the world for our 2023 online two -year Climate Friendly Travel Diploma.

The Diploma is a world first and trains students to support Travel & Tourism companies and communities in becoming sustainable and climate resilient; by Adapting to Extreme Weather and understanding how to achieve Zero GHG emissions by 2050.

The CFT Diploma trains students to help to build Climate Friendly Travel Communities - preparing them for jobs in Sustainable Transport, Hospitality, Destination Management or Government Services.

There are 300 hours of online learning, with some of the leading academic and industry experts in the world, followed by a 12 month internship as a Strong Climate Champion and National Chapter Leader.

Details about the scholarship and the diploma are here Diploma in Climate Friendly Travel

The ideal candidate will be a graduate, with a firm grounding in Travel & Tourism and have fluent English. They must be able to commit to two years of online engagement and be ready to work with us to help build and/or advance a Climate Friendly Travel chapter in their country.

To Apply, please click here

Strong Earth Awards
Invitation to Students

Still time to enter !!

10 x 500 Euro Awards will be given for the best 500-word “thought paper” on: -
“Why is the Earth Charter more relevant today than when it was introduced by Maurice Strong and Michael Gorbachev in 2005 - especially for tourism in Least Developing Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS)”

The competition has been designed to draw attention to the important sustainability messages contained in the Earth Charter, as well as the vision of the late Maurice Strong and its increasing relevance in today’s Climate challenged world.

For more information on the awards please go to www.thesunprogram.com
To learn about the Earth Charter, go to www.earthcharter.org
Please email entries in word document to awards@thesunprogram.com by including the following details:
Name/Country/Gender/Word Count/University (if student)
Submission Deadline: 30 September.
For more information, e-mail awards@thesunprogram.com