Tourism has been responsible for almost a tenth of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new research led by the University of Sydney. The paper also showed that small islands attract a disproportionate share of carbon emissions, considering their small populations, through international arrivals, while the US is responsible for the majority of tourism-generated emissions overall.
The research, led by Integrated Sustainability Analysis supply-chain research group at the University of Sydney, quantified the world’s tourism footprint across the supply chain – from flights to souvenirs – for the first time, and found the global comprehensive tourism footprint of tourism-related GHG emissions is four times greater than previous estimates, is growing faster than international trade and is already responsible for almost a tenth of global GHGs.
Highlights
- The trillion-dollar industry is growing faster than international trade
- Insatiable appetite for luxury travel continues to increase with income
- Key emitters like US are joined by growing middle-classes in China, India
- Key island destinations like Maldives, New Zealand and Australia vulnerable to climate stresses (sea-level rises, warming threatening skiing, coral bleaching)
The researchers recommend financial and technical assistance could help share burdens such as global warming on winter sports, sea-level rise on low-lying islands and pollution impacts on exotic and vulnerable destinations.
Corresponding author Dr Arunima Malik, from the School of Physics, said the complex research took a year and a half to complete and incorporated more than an estimated one billion supply chains and their impacts on the atmosphere.
Our analysis is a world-first look at the true cost of tourism – including consumables such as food from eating out and souvenirs – it’s a complete life-cycle assessment of global tourism, ensuring we don’t miss any impacts. This research fills a crucial gap identified by the World Tourism Organization and World Meteorological Organization to quantify, in a comprehensive manner, the world’s tourism footprint.
Lead researcher from the University of Sydney, Professor Manfred Lenzen, said the study found air travel was the key contributor to tourism’s footprint. However, the cruise industry is also a key aspect of global tourism as it is gaining more and more a significant passenger growth, with 2017 reaching 26.7 million passengers globally up from a projection of 25.8 million, according to CLIA.
Previous research has quantified the carbon footprint of specific aspects of tourism operations such as hotel, events and transportation infrastructure; and in particular countries or regions. This new study included 189 individual countries and all upstream supply chains.
The US tops the carbon footprint ranking, followed by China, Germany and India. The majority of these carbon footprints are caused by domestic travel; business travel could not be distinguished from tourism. In countries such as the Maldives, Mauritius, Cyprus and the Seychelles, international tourism represents between 30 and 80% of national emissions.
Between 2009 and 2013, tourism’s global carbon footprint increased from 3.9 to 4.5 Gt CO2-e – four times more than previous estimates – accounting for about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Transport, shopping and food are significant contributors.
The paper notes international arrivals and tourism receipts have been growing at an annual 3-5% – outpacing the growth of international trade – and that tourism is forecast to grow at an annual 4%, outpacing many other economic sectors.
