Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort announces today that it has become a signatory of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). Owner/CEO Ewald Biemans was invited to join global hospitality leaders and Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in signing the Declaration at the launch event. Biemans is the Caribbean’s first launch signatory, however, every hospitality entity through the Caribbean region as well as worldwide is invited and asked to monumental step as a sector to fight climate change. Biemans is also attending COP26 as a winner of the Global UN 2020 Climate Action Award where he will be presenting the resort’s journey beyond achieving net zero on Nov. 9.
Designed for the hospitality industry
The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism unites travel and tourism behind a common set of pathways for climate action, aligning the sector with global commitments and catalyzing collaborative solutions to the many challenges facing businesses and destinations globally. The Glasgow Declaration encourages the acceleration of climate action in tourism by securing commitments to reduce emissions in tourism by at least 50% over the next decade and achieve Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050.
Become a signatory
Every hospitality entity of any size throughout the world spanning accommodations, transportation, tour operators and more, is encouraged to become a signatory. As a signatory of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, those who Bucuti & Tara has committed to aligning its actions with the latest scientific recommendations, so as to ensure its approach remains consistent with a rise of no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100. It also has agreed to deliver or update climate action plans within 12 months, align plans with the five pathways of the Declaration (Measure, Decarbonize, Regenerate, Collaborate, Finance), report publicly on an annual basis, and work in a collaborative spirit, sharing good practices and solutions, and disseminating information.
“It is an honor to represent Aruba and the Caribbean as a launch signatory of the Glasgow Declaration for Climate Action in Tourism here at the United Nations’ COP26,” shares Ewald Biemans, Owner/CEO of Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, Aruba. “The Glasgow Declaration provides the guidance and clear goals that I hope prompts all of us through the Caribbean to join together to help to protect our vulnerable, yet beautiful paradise, and to protect our people in working towards a better future.”
About the Glasgow Declaration
The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism brings together the latest research and global expertise to galvanize climate action. It is hosted within the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Program’s website, supported by recommended actions for tourism stakeholders across the world to consider as part of their action planning, alongside other resources.
As the declaration states: “A just transition to Net Zero before 2050 will only be possible if tourism’s recovery accelerates the adoption of sustainable consumption and production, and redefines our future success to consider not only economic value but rather the regeneration of ecosystems, biodiversity and communities.”
The need for a globally consistent approach for climate action in tourism has been made clear, notably through research into CO2 emissions carried out by UNWTO/ITF and released at the UNFCCC COP25 in December 2019. This showed that transport-related emissions from tourism were forecast to increase by 25% by 2030 from 2016 levels, against the current ambition scenario.
In 2020, the One Planet Vision for a responsible recovery of the tourism sector was adopted with the aim of emerging from the COVID-19 crisis both stronger and more sustainable. Climate action is a central element of the Vision, which calls for monitoring and reporting CO2 emissions from tourism, promoting the introduction of science-based targets, accelerating the decarbonization of tourism operations, and engaging the tourism sector in carbon removal.
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Article written by Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort
