Tourism2030 - 2021-03-15T23:01:18Ztag:destinet.eu,2021-03-15:/News/2021/3https://destinet.eu/misc_/EnviroWindows/Site.gifECOTRANSTourism2030Climate change: 10 myths about net zero targets and carbon offsetting, busted tag:destinet.eu,2021-03-15:/News/2021/3/climate-change-10-myths-to-about-net-zero-targets-and-carbon-offsetting-busted2021-03-15T23:01:18ZHerbert HameleHerbert Hamele<p class="news-author"><em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Climate Home News, 11 December 2020</span></em></p>
<p class="news-author"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>By </em><a href="https://www.climatechangenews.com/author/41-scientists/" title="Posts by 41 scientists" rel="author"><em>41 scientists</em></a></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Myth 10: Products and travel can be “climate neutral” or even “climate positive”. <em>False</em>.</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Products and travel that are sold as “climate neutral” or “climate positive” due to offsetting, do still have a carbon footprint. Such marketing is misleading and may even lead to more emissions as the offsetting incentivises increased consumption. We contribute more to climate solutions by consuming and travelling less.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">"</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>The idea of carbon offsetting, which underpins so-called net zero targets, is founded on a number of myths that must be dispelled. By revealing them, we aim to empower people, so that they can pressure governments and companies to create real solutions, here and now.<br /></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In many cases, offsetting relies on capturing carbon in vegetation and soils. Such capacity is however limited and is needed to store carbon dioxide that we have already emitted. Assumptions of future technologies and targets decades ahead delay immediate action. Countries and corporations must shift focus from distant net zero targets to real emissions reductions now. The impacts of the climate crisis are becoming increasingly severe, everywhere. We are experiencing heat waves, floods, droughts, forest fires and sea level rise as a result of global heating. The average global temperature is rising at an unprecedented rate, rapidly diminishing the prospect of keeping global warming below 1.5C and with increasing <a href="https://media.nature.com/original/magazine-assets/d41586-019-03595-0/d41586-019-03595-0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">risks of crossing irreversible tipping points</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In the face of growing demands for action, many countries and companies are making promises and <a href="https://www.climatechangenews.com/2019/06/14/countries-net-zero-climate-goal/">setting targets to reach “net zero” emissions</a> or “carbon neutrality”. These often sound ambitious and may even give the impression that the world is awakening and ready to take on the climate crisis. In practice, however, net zero targets several decades into the future shift our focus away from the immediate and unprecedented emissions reductions needed. Net zero targets are generally premised on the assumption that fossil fuel emissions can be compensated for by carbon offsetting and unproven future technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But offsetting does not cancel out our emissions – yet action to do so is immediately needed."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>More: </strong><a href="https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/12/11/10-myths-net-zero-targets-carbon-offsetting-busted/" target="_new"><strong>Read the 10 myths</strong></a></span><br /></p>
</div>Travel Green Planet 2021- A Post Covid-19 Collaborative Effort tag:destinet.eu,2021-03-15:/News/2021/3/travel-green-planet-2021-a-post-covid-19-collaborative-effort-to-a-green-and2021-03-15T23:01:18ZHerbert HameleHerbert Hamele<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>ECOTRANS - March 11<sup>th</sup> 2021<br />by Gordon Sillence </em></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>As a first virtual ITB kicks off the 2021 global tourism parade – marking one year of a continuing Covid-19 hammering of the classical tourism industry, disaster brings about drastic changes we need to make an urgent review of what new challenges and opportunities this presents tourism stakeholders across the globe. </strong></span></p>
<h2 id="mcetoc_1f0gv42ni0"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Towards a Green and Equitable Tourism Sector Recovery 2030</strong></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">However, the multiple crises scenario is not new, and many of us will see the absolute need to make the post-Covid-19 world recovery as green and equitable for the long term. Clearly the money for sustainable development is now on the table, and all stakeholders need to collaborate to spend this in a wise and timely manner.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">16 years ago the Tourism2030 platform was designed by the <em>European Environment Agency</em>, <em>UNEP,</em> <em>UNTWO</em> and the NGO <a href="/who-who/civil-society-ngos/ecotrans/" target="_new"><em>ECOTRANS European Tourism Sustainability Network</em></a> for to do just this job – ie connecting stakeholders to create <em>peace-based, green local to global tourism sustainable production and consumption supply chains</em> to counter social inequalities, climate change, and biodiversity loss with smart green innovative governance and business management of our precious territories, wherever we live.<em> (See: <a href="/background" target="_new">About Tourism2030</a> )</em><br /></span></p>
<h2 id="mcetoc_1f0gv4c0f1"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <strong>Travel Green Planet 2030 Initiative</strong></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The <em>Travel Green Planet Initiative</em> enters its 3<sup>rd</sup> year with the launch of the <em>European Tourism Going Gree</em><em>n</em> 2030 project funded by the EU COSME programme up to 2023. The <em>Tourism 2030 Portal</em> will become the ICT hub of an <em>SCP supply chain certification clustering process</em> that will be available to all tourism stakeholders wishing to develop green business practices. It is particularly focused on European tourism SMEs, giving them access to sustainability certification and support systems in Europe’s post-Covid-19 attempts to recover European tourism in the most sustainable way possible.</span></p>
<h2 id="mcetoc_1f0gv4gs72"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>European Tourism Going Green 2030</strong></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">At the European level this translates at first into a six country programme that will develop common training and support systems for SMEs who wish to operate in a more sustainable manner. <em>Sustainability certification is the key</em>, and the European-based clusters will develop stakeholder maps that will be used to highlight green tourism service providers and put them into contact with green product and service suppliers in their regional clusters and into a global sustainable tourism market place: the <em>Green Travel Maps</em>. </span></p>
<h2 id="mcetoc_1f0gv4ppr3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Local to Global SCP Certification Clustering Process for Protected Areas </strong></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Tourism 2030 portal will offer this certification clustering system to all levels of governance – local to global – to build local to global SCP certification clusters in line with SDG 12- Sustainable Consumption and Production. With <em>a clear common value system based on supply chain certification processes</em> the project will continue its collaborative approach with key global stakeholders brought together at ITB 2020 to develop its 2030 Countdown process to SDG implementation by tourism stakeholders. The challenge as ever is to <em>collaborate before it’s too late</em> for those <em>protected areas</em> were a greener more social form of tourism can positively determine the fate of local biodiversity and local communities, almost forgotten in the face of the Covid-19 …</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>Any question or suggestion? Contact <a href="mailto:gordon.sillence@ecotrans">gordon.sillence@ecotrans.de</a> or </em><a href="mailto:herbert.hamele@ecotrans.de"><em>herbert.hamele@ecotrans.de</em></a> </span></p>
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<td style="width: 10px; background-color: #0071bc;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #ffffff;"><strong>For more information visit:</strong></span></td>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="/who-who/civil-society-ngos/travel-green-planet-2030-initiative">The Travel Green Planet2030 initiative: for mainstreaming sustainable tourism</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="/News/2021/2/eu-supporting-tourism-sustainability-through-certification">The European Tourism Going Green 2030 project: supporting sustainability through certification</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="/resources/tools/certification-quickfinder" target="_new">The Certification Quickfinder: see profiles of more than 40 certificates as mapping partners</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="/market-place/green-travel-maps" target="_new" title="Certified Tourism on the European Green Travel Maps">The Green Travel Maps: search more than 16,000 certified businesses and destinations</a></span></p>
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