Tourism’s Climate Promises Span 20 Years — With Few Results, Study Finds

Skift Take

Despite two decades of climate pledges, tourism emissions are still rising and many commitments remain unfulfilled. UN Tourism says it's time to focus on the future, but real credibility will depend on whether the next wave of promises leads to measurable change.

Despite decades of climate pledges, hardly any of them have led to change or a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study by researchers at Linnaeus University in Sweden and the University of Waterloo in Canada.

The paper, by Stefan Gössling and Daniel Scott, looked at the four main international climate declarations signed by governments, tourism bodies, and businesses going back to 2003. 

The researchers argued that emissions from tourism are still rising, and the sector is not on track to cut them by half by 2030, as many groups have pledged. 

“The tourism sector’s response to climate change over the last two decades, has been insufficient,” the study said.

The most recent estimates of tourism's contributions to greenhouse gas emissions are around 9%, making it one of the biggest polluting sectors. 

“It has taken 20 years just to build basic systems to measure emissions,” the authors said. “In another 20 years, the sector is expected to be close to net zero. That’s a vastly more complex and costly goal.”

Gössling recently told Skift that while the tourism sector is one of the most exposed to the impacts of climate change, it could become a leader. “We need systemic change, yes. But we also need pioneers. And tourism, ironically one of the sectors most exposed - can become a leader.”

A Long List of Tourism Climate Declarations

Many of the agreements the researchers reviewed were led or coordinated by UN Tourism, then known as the UN World Tourism Organization.

The Djerba Declaration, 2003: It warned of rising heat in Europe and a shift in peak travel seasons. It emphasized planning and knowledge-sharing and 45 countries signed on.

The Davos Declaration, 2007: It estimated that tourism contributed 5% of direct global greenhouse gas emissions and pledged a system for emissions monitoring. But no tracking system was created and no emission targets were set.

The Glasgow Declaration, 2021: This declaration was driven by travel businesses and organizations. It was signed at the UN climate talks in 2021 in Scotland by over 900 organizations, including Booking Holdings, Expedia, and Accor. No major airlines signed on.

The study noted that despite strong pledges, fewer than 30% of signatories had submitted a climate action plan by late 2024.

UN Tourism said the Glasgow Declaration was still an important step forward because, for the first time, it included a monitoring framework. “We are working on the first progress report which should be out in the next few months,” said Virginia Fernandez, programme coordinator at UN Tourism.

Baku Declaration, 2024: 69 countries and nine non-state actors signed a declaration at the UN climate talks in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, once again emphasizing tourism’s climate vulnerability and the need for urgent action.

Countries that signed include Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Israel, Portugal, Russia and Kenya.

But Gössling and Scott criticized the language for being too vague. Phrases like “where applicable” and “where relevant” led the study’s authors to question how serious the industry is about acting.

Fernandez said the Baku Declaration was different from past agreements because it was signed not just by tourism ministries, but by entire governments.

“This is the most significant agreement in travel and tourism to date,” she said.

A New Global Partnership?

One of the most promising outcomes of the Baku Declaration could be the launch of a new global coordination group for climate action in tourism, to be led by UN Tourism, the study authors said.

But so far, no timeline or structure has been announced. UN Tourism told Skift the planning is ongoing and confirmed it will take the lead on the partnership. 

It acknowledged that the tourism sector needs alignment on climate goals and that the agency was best placed to take on this role. 

“We can say UN Tourism will lead on this and make the decisions and tell people what to do. That would be quicker,” Fernandez said. “But will it be more effective if we have a variety of stakeholders at the table - such as businesses, non-state actors, governments, tourism bodies. That way any agreements will be collective ones and I think that will be more effective in the long run.”

Skift’s in-depth reporting on climate issues is made possible through the financial support of Intrepid Travel. This backing allows Skift to bring you high-quality journalism on one of the most important topics facing our planet today. Intrepid is not involved in any decisions made by Skift’s editorial team.