TPCC – Tourism Panel on Climate Change at COP27

• The TPCC Executive Board will present the ‘Foundation Framework’ during COP27
• TPCC, created by the Sustainable Tourism Global Center, will provide objective metrics to accelerate global tourism climate action

6 NOVEMBER 2022, SHARM EL-SHEIKH: The Executive Board of the newly established Tourism Panel on Climate Change (TPCC) will present their ‘Foundation Framework’ on 10 November, during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Created by the Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC), the world’s first multi-country, multi-stakeholder global coalition to drive the Travel & Tourism sector’s transition to net zero, led by Saudi Arabia; the Tourism Panel on Climate Change (TPCC) is an independent and impartial initiative designed to support tourism’s transition to net-zero emissions and climate resilient tourism development.

The TPCC represents a new era of global collaboration across academia, business, and civil society, inspired by the IPCC, “to inform and rapidly advance science-based climate action across the global tourism system in support of the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.”

The solutions-oriented TPCC brings together over 60 leading experts in tourism and sustainability from more than 30 countries to systematically review, analyze, and distill climate change-related science to support and accelerate climate action throughout the Travel & Tourism sector.  The TPCC will deliver:

• The first Science Assessment of tourism and climate change relevant knowledge in over 15 years on emission trends, climate impacts, and solutions for mitigation and adaptation to support climate-resilient tourism development globally, regionally, and nationally.
• A climate action Stock Take, using a newly developed set of peer-reviewed and open-source indicators that track key connections between climate change and tourism, including progress on sector commitments in support of Paris Agreement goals.
• A series of leading-edge thought pieces – Horizon Papers – on critical issues on the intersection between climate change and tourism mitigation and adaptation.

More information about these outputs, the 60+ tourism, and climate change experts, as well as the vision, mission, and modus operandi of the TPCC will be released when Professors Daniel Scott, Susanne Becken, and Geoffrey Lipman – long-time climate and sustainability leaders – present the TPCC’s Foundation Framework in a COP27 side event on 10 November.

TPCC’s three-member Executive Board has wide-ranging expertise in the intersection of tourism, climate change, and sustainability.

• Professor Daniel Scott – Professor and Research Chair in Climate & Society, University of Waterloo (Canada); Contributing author and reviewer for the Third, Fourth and Fifth PICC Assessment Reports and Special Report on 1.5°
• Professor Susanne Becken – Professor of Sustainable Tourism, Griffith University (Australia) and the University of Surrey (UK); Winner of UNWTO’s Ulysses Prize; Contributing author to the Fourth and Fifth IPCC Assessment Reports
• Professor Geoffrey Lipman – Envoy for STGC; former Assistant Secretary General UNWTO; former Executive Director IATA; current President SUNx Malta; Co-author of books on Green Growth & Travelism & EIU Studies on Air Transport

***NOTES TO EDITORS

The TPCC – Tourism Panel on Climate Change is a neutral body of more than 60 tourism and climate scientists and experts who will provide a current state assessment of the sector and objective metrics to public and private sector decisionmakers worldwide. It will produce regular assessments in line with the UNFCCC COP programs and the IPCC.

The Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC) is the world’s first multi-country, multi-stakeholder global coalition that will lead, accelerate, and track the tourism industry’s transition to net-zero emissions, as well as drive action to protect nature and support communities. It will enable the transition while delivering knowledge, tools, financing mechanisms and innovation stimulation into the tourism sector.

The STGC was announced by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman during the Saudi Green Initiative in October 2021 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia then led a panel discussion during COP26 (November 2021) in Glasgow, United Kingdom, to elaborate on how the Center will deliver on its mandate with founding country representatives and experts from partner international organizations.

The TPCC represents a new era of global collaboration across academia, business, and civil society, with the mission “to inform and rapidly advance science-based climate action across the global tourism system in support of the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.”

The solutions-oriented TPCC will systematically review, analyze, and distill climate change-related science to support and accelerate climate action throughout the Travel & Tourism sector. Together its 60+ experts, representing over 30 countries, will deliver:

• The first Science Assessment of tourism and climate change relevant knowledge in over 15 years on emission trends, climate impacts, and solutions for mitigation and adaptation to support climate-resilient tourism development globally, regionally, and nationally.
• A climate action Stocktake, using a newly developed set of peer-reviewed and open-source indicators that track key connections between climate change and tourism, including progress on sector commitments in support of Paris Agreement goals.
• A series of leading edge thought pieces – Horizon Papers – on critical issues on the intersect between climate change and tourism mitigation and adaptation.

The Tourism Panel on Climate Change (TPCC) was created by the Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC) led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to support tourism’s transition to net-zero emissions and climate-resilient tourism development.

More information about these outputs, the 60+ tourism, and climate change experts, as well as the vision, mission, and modus operandi of the TPCC will be released when Professors Daniel Scott, Susanne Becken, and Geoffrey Lipman – long-time climate and sustainability leaders – present the TPCC’s Foundation Framework in a COP27 side event on 10 November.  

TPCC’s three-member Executive has wide-ranging expertise in the intersection of tourism, climate change and sustainability. (more)

• Professor Daniel Scott – Professor and Research Chair in Climate & Society, University of Waterloo (Canada); Contributing author and reviewer for the Third, Fourth and Fifth PICC Assessment Reports and Special Report on 1.5°
• Professor Susanne Becken – Professor of Sustainable Tourism, Griffith University (Australia) and the University of Surrey (UK); Winner of UNWTO’s Ulysses Prize; Contributing author to the Fourth and Fifth IPCC Assessment Reports
• Professor Geoffrey Lipman – Envoy for STGC; former Assistant Secretary General UNWTO; former Executive Director IATA; current President SUNx Malta; Co-author of books on Green Growth & Travelism & EIU Studies on Air Transport

The TPCC – Tourism Panel on Climate Change is a neutral body of more than 60 tourism and climate scientists and experts who will provide a current state assessment of the sector and objective metrics to public and private sector decisionmakers worldwide. It will produce regular assessments in line with the UNFCCC COP programs and the IPCC.

The Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC) is the world’s first multi-country, a multi-stakeholder global coalition that will lead, accelerate, and track the tourism industry’s transition to net-zero emissions, as well as drive action to protect nature and support communities. It will enable the transition while delivering knowledge, tools, financing mechanisms, and innovation stimulation into the tourism sector.

The STGC was announced by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman during the Saudi Green Initiative in October 2021 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His Excellency Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia then led a panel discussion during COP26 (November 2021) in Glasgow, United Kingdom, to elaborate on how the Center will deliver on its mandate with founding country representatives and experts from partner international organizations.

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