The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) signed the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism

Together with its tourism programmes, Blue Flag and Green Key, FEE is committed to creating action plans that can help reduce climate change and limit the negative impacts of tourism.

The Glasgow Declaration is a voluntary commitment aiming to combat climate change in tourism. The Declaration is initiated by UNWTO in collaboration with the Travel Foundation and was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November 2021. The Foundation for Environmental Education signed the declaration in May 2022, and agreed to various commitments, such as:

• To support the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050.

• To deliver climate action plans and publicly report on their progress within the 12 months from the day of becoming a signatory.

• To align future plans with the five pathways of the Declaration (Measure, Decarbonise, Regenerate, Collaborate and Finance) and to report on their progress publicly on annual basis.

FEE will promote the Glasgow Declaration through its tourism-related programmes, Blue Flag and Green Key, which should encourage other tourism organisations to become signatories of the Glasgow Declaration as well. Promotion of the Glasgow Declaration within the wide network of both tourism programmes can help to reach the goal of Declaration and build a better future.  

Blue Flag and Green Key will also work on their climate action plans and further develop their list of criteria, so that they can align with the five pathways of the Declaration.

In addition, both programmes will systematically promote the use of the Global Forest Fund by organisations and individual tourists visiting Blue Flag awarded sites and Green Key certified establishments to compensate for travel emissions in the hospitality and tourism sectors, which aligns with the collaboration pathway of the Glasgow Declaration.

Furthermore, FEE is updating its Travel Policy and Planning document to incorporate ways for the organisation to decrease its travel-based emissions to align with the Declaration’s collaboration pathway and to accelerate and coordinate climate action in tourism.

Supporting the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050, is an important step for FEE which is supported by the words of the International Green Key Director, Finn Bolding Thomsen:

“Becoming a signatory of the Glasgow Declaration shows the FEE’s commitment and desire to make a change in the tourism industry. This commitment is especially essential for the FEE and its programmes, as it aligns with our internal GAIA 20:30 Strategy, addressing the three burning environmental problems, where climate change is one of them. In the Green Key programme, we will raise awareness on climate change education to support climate action in tourism.”

To learn more about the Glasgow Declaration, click here.