The travel industry has been urged to prove its commitment to sustainability with “rapid decarbonisation” to avoid climate disasters.
James Thornton, chief executive of Intrepid Travel, one of the first carbon-neutral tour operators, warned delegates at the Abta Travel conference in Morocco that urgent change is needed.
“The travel and tourism industry is on the front seat of the climate disaster,” he said. “Change is needed as quickly as possible. The reality is that there is no vaccine for climate change. If we don’t tackle climate change, we won’t have the world to show our customers.”
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the travel industry generates between 8% and 11% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, the majority from transportation.
Intrepid, the largest travel B Corp company, took the lead in going carbon-neutral in 2010, and has removed short-haul flights from its top 50 routes and replaced them with alternatives like bus and train travel.
“Beyond flying, there are more than 30 forms of transportation that intrepid travellers use on their trips,” Mr Thornton said. “This includes all kinds of things, such as buses, taxis, rickshaws, snowmobiles and even camels. Operating over 2,000 trips in over 100 countries, we rely on a plethora of ways to get around.”
Meanwhile, trade body Airlines UK urged the UK government to increase financial support for the production of green aviation fuel.
The UK has ambitions to have at least five commercial-scale SAF plants under construction in the UK by 2025.
