Climate Friendly Travel Registry gains 200 from Thompson Okanagan, Canada
Message from Dr Hans Friederich, registrar of the SUNx Malta Climate Friendly Travel Registry. SUNx is a “GT” Partner.
During the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) Summit, the news was shared that 200 tourism SMEs from this Canadian Region will register their carbon reduction and sustainability ambitions on the SUNx Malta Climate Friendly Travel (CFT) Registry.
SUNx Malta is a not-for-profit EU-based Organization supported by the Government of Malta and inspired by Maurice Strong, father of Sustainable Development. We have created a CFT Registry as a result of our first State of the Sector Report undertaken with the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), to help Travel and Tourism companies and communities develop and show their Climate 2050 and Sustainability 2030 Ambitions. The Registry was developed in close cooperation with the UN Climate Change Agency and as the conduit for our sector to the UN Climate Action Portal. This download gives you more information about the Registry.
In addition to the exciting news from Canada, we are working closely with WTTC to strengthen the Registry and its links with the UN Climate Change Agency. We are also in contact with the European Travel Commission and they have expressed support in getting tourism companies in Europe to join. Some other companies, like Chumbe Island Coral Park and Panoramic Journeys have joined already.
I am the Registrar and I am inviting relevant parties to record their plans on the Registry. Registration will create little extra work. You just need to commit to the core principles of CFT to complete part A. Part B is a little more complicated, but if you do not have the data yet, you have up to two years to develop your 2050 Climate plan. The Registry will give you access to tools and resources to develop Climate plans, and that will be important for the future as a license to operate. The Registry can of course be used for promotion and it may help to attract more visitors.
I hope that you will all agree to have your carbon reduction and sustainability plans registered. Let me know if you want more information. My email is hans@thesunprogram.com, or hansfr55@gmail.com.
A word from Professor Geoffrey Lipman, President of SUNx Malta:
The Registry is a pivotal component of our Climate Friendly Travel System (see diagram below), along with the Diploma we launched earlier this year and the Annual Maurice Strong CFT Youth Summit, which will have its first worldwide session with Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (Canada), Malta, and the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office on 29 April 2021.
We cannot stress enough that the post-pandemic recovery must build a green and clean pathway for coming generations. By registering climate and sustainability plans all Travel and Tourism companies and communities — no matter the size or type will be able to transparently show actual action taken, as well as pledges/aspirations, and have it formally linked to the mainstream UN 2030 SDG and 2050 Paris 1.5 framework. They will also become pioneers in our 100,000 Strong Climate Champions Program, across all UN States by 2030.
The Climate Crisis has only intensified during COVID-19 and as UN Secretary General Guterres recently declared the tourism recovery must be “climate friendly” and build back better for society as a whole.
Download
- This download gives you more information about the SUNx Registry. (PDF hosted off-site)
Featured image (top of post): Lake Kelowna, Okanagan, BC, Canada. Image (CC0) via Needpix.