Beyond Greening - Tourism Watch

Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tourism in the Rio-Process | PositioningpaperReducing unsustainable resource consumption (while maintaining or increasing quality oflife) is difficult enough at current levels, and even more difficult if growth rates are factored in.How would more people travelling moreand longer distances possibly lead to lessenergy consumption and less CO 2emissions than we have today (or than wehad in any given base year in the past)?They won't, as UNEP and UNWTOacknowledge: "Given the rising globaltrend for travel and the growing energyintensity of most trips, future emissionsfrom the tourism sector are expected toincrease substantially, even consideringcurrent trends in technological energyefficiencygains in transport (air andground) and accommodation."If UNWTO and UNEP talk about a greeneconomyinvestment scenario entailing significant environmental benefits, the stress is on"compared with business-as-usual" – while "business as usual" indeed means the projectedgrowth path. According to the report, in the "business as usual" scenario up to 2050, tourismgrowth will imply increases in energy consumption (111 percent), greenhouse gas emissions(105 percent), water consumption (150 percent), and solid waste disposal (252 percent). The"green" scenario is expected to "undercut" this by (merely!) 18 percent for water consumption,44 percent for energy supply and demand, and 52 percent for CO 2 emissions. This still leads toan enormous sacrifice of environmental quality.What gives rise to serious concern is that this sacrifice will be the consequence of luxuryconsumption, not of fulfilling the development needs of the poor who, under a global justiceimperative, need to – and have the right to – increase their consumption. Advocating tourismas a "key sector" for sustainable development means a promotion of unsustainableconsumption of the rich – allegedly (but not necessarily) to the benefit of the poor.Investing in greening vs. investing in (green) tourismIn their report, UNEP and UNWTO try their best to place emphasis on the "greening oftourism" – like investments in energy efficiency – which can improve environmentaloutcomes. This, however, is not the same as "investments in green tourism" which may well be(mis-?)understood as a new promotion strategy for the tourism sector. There is a risk that thiswill be the way in which tourism will be taken up in the outcome document at Rio+20.It would provide governments with handy advice: The majority of tourism businesses aresmall and medium enterprises. According to UNEP and UNWTO, "governments andinternational organisations can facilitate the financial flow to these important actors with anemphasis on contributions to the local economy and poverty reduction." In essence, any kindof tourism promotion can nowadays be justified by claiming that it contributes to povertyreduction, ignoring that tourism activities as such are unlikely to be sustainable. They areembedded in a larger context that includes challenges of equity and justice, both globally andlocally. Who travels, who does not? Who benefits from tourism, and who loses in the process?The losers are not only those who simply do not benefit. In many cases, they are the poor whoare disproportionately affected and get marginalised further.19