page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9 page 10 page 11 page 12 page 13 page 14 page 15 page 16 page 17 page 18 page 19 page 20 page 21 page 22 page 23 page 24 page 25 page 26 page 27 page 28 page 29 page 30 page 31 page 32 page 33 page 34 page 35 page 36 page 37 page 38 page 39 page 40 page 41 page 42 page 43 page 44 page 45 page 46 page 47 page 48 page 49 page 50 page 51 page 52 page 53 page 54 page 55 page 56 page 57 page 58 page 59 page 60 page 61 page 62 page 63 page 64 page 65 page 66 page 67 page 68 page 69 page 70 page 71 page 72 page 73 page 74 page 75 page 76 page 77 page 78 page 79 page 80 page 81 page 82 page 83 page 84 page 85 page 86 page 87 page 88 page 89 page 90 page 91 page 92 page 93 page 94 page 95 page 96 page 97 page 98 page 99 page 100 page 101 page 102 page 103 page 104 page 105 page 106 page 107 page 108 page 109 page 110 page 111 page 112 page 113 page 114 page 115 page 116 page 117 page 118 page 119 page 120 page 121 page 122 page 123 page 124 page 125 page 126 page 127 page 128 page 129 page 130 page 131 page 132
|
fundamental to any long-term multilateral frameworkfor the mitigation of GHG emissions. In particular,UNWTO has recently called for the application of theUNFCCC principle of Common but DifferentiatedResponsibilities amongst countries to alleviatenegative impacts on tourism in developing countries,where the sector accounts for as much as 45 per centof the service export earnings. TOURISM AT COP16United Nations climate negotiations represent ahistorical opportunity to meet the challenge of creatinga more sustainable planet; an opportunity not to be missed. In particular, COP16 is a platform from which toformalise pledges and promises made to cut and limitemissions and provide clarity on the continuation ofthe Kyoto protocol. It is also a chance to ensure thatthe funding pledges coming out of Copenhagen -US$30 billion in climate support for developingeconomies, with a goal of reaching US$100 billion inannual funding by 2020 - start flowing. Some of thisfunding could be channelled into sustainable tourismprojects, providing key development options for local communities. From the tourism perspective, it is a chance tocontinue pushing for the sector to be seen as a wholewithin the evolving UN framework, and to ensure thatits positive effects on economic growth, developmentand poverty alleviation, not just air emissions, providethe content for debate. nABOUT THE AUTHORDr Taleb Rifai was elected Secretary-General of theUNWTO on May 12, 2009.Prior to that, he wasDeputy Secretary-General of the UNWTO and, from1999 to 2003, the Jordanian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities. His other posts included that of the Director ofJordan's Economic Mission to Washington, theDirector-General of the Jordanian InvestmentPromotion Corporation and the Chairman of theJordan Tourism Board. Dr Rifai also served as the Minister of Planning andInternational Cooperation from 1995 to 1997, whenhe was actively involved in policy making anddeveloping investment strategies . Dr Rifai was responsible for founding Jordan's firstArchaeological Park in the ancient city of Petra, incollaboration with UNESCO and the World Bank, and other projects in Jerash, the Dead Sea and Wadi Rum. 076TOURISM" "THE COPENHAGEN ACCORD HAS BEEN ENDORSED BY OVER 110 COUNTRIES, REPRESENTING AT LEAST 80 PER CENT OF WORLD EMISSIONS AND A SIMILAR PERCENTAGE OF GDP.UN Photo/WFP/Amjad Jamal Above:Climate Groupfounder Dr StephenHoward Pictured:Victims of2010 floods in Pakistan.Despite emitting the leastgreenhouse gases,developing countries arethe regions most at riskfrom climate change. TOURISM077 |