A new study outlines ways to move ahead with low carbon travel and tourism by effectively cutting down on carbon and other dangerous greenhouse gas emissions. The report, ‘Towards a Low Carbon Travel and Tourism Sector’ authored by Travel and Tourism Community, a sector of the World Economic Forum, highlights steps which can be enacted by governments and businesses to eliminate unnecessary energy consumption and to aid the sector in taking an aggressive stance towards climate change issues.

The report, a joint endeavor conducted by the World Economic Forum, UNWTO, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme details solutions in conjunction with leading names in the travel industry. 

The report summarizes both short and long term solutions to eliminating carbon emissions put out by the travel industry in relation to transportation by air, land, and sea, hotels and accommodations, and other services which require carbon emitting technology global. The release of the report coincides with the upcoming UN climate change talks which will be held in Copenhagen this December.

Solutions detailed in the report to be discussed at the Copenhagen talks encompass market mechanisms for addressing climate change in the travel industry as well as carbon emission trading schemes on a global scale for both the tourism and travel sectors. 

The study also incorporates how Governments can get involved to enact reform which could effectively decrease the carbon emissions put out by the travel industry. The report also stressed the need for developing countries with quickly expanding tourism industries to reply more and more on sustainable tourism as they transition into a tourism economy year by year, as well as calls for low carbon air travel to become a priority for developing tourism industry nations.

Furthermore, the report broaches the possibility of a “Green Fund for Travel and Tourism” which would help support countries and businesses to transition towards sustainability in their travel and tourism sectors. The fund would aim to give grants to various aspects of the industry on the state and industry level in order to help equip technologies such as transport, lodgings, and other services with low carbon facilities.