Launched during the first week of COP26 in November 2021 and already attracting over 300 signatories, the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism is the travel industry’s boldest move yet towards measurable decarbonization and climate accountability. Louise Southerden reports.

This week, at COP26 in Glasgow, the travel industry made a giant leap towards meaningful climate action by launching the Glasgow Declaration: a Commitment to a Decade of Tourism Climate Action.

The Declaration itself is a one-page pledge that travel businesses of all kinds, anywhere in the world, can agree to by becoming a signatory. But the Glasgow Declaration isn’t just a pledge. Each signatory must deliver a “climate action plan” within 12 months and publicly report on its progress.

RELATED: Darrell Wade: “The travel industry must turn this climate moment into a climate movement”

At the Declaration’s core is a recognition of the “increased urgency” of climate action in tourism, an industry responsible for an estimated 8 per cent of global emissions, spelled out in one highlighted paragraph:

“We declare our shared commitment to unite all stakeholders in transforming tourism to deliver effective climate action. We support the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050. We will consistently align our actions with the latest scientific recommendations, so as to ensure our approach remains consistent with a rise of no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.”