TOTA and SUNx Malta Announce Launch of Global Climate Friendly Travel Registry & Maurice Strong Climate Friendly Travel Youth Summit
Kelowna, BC (September 25, 2020) - The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) has partnered with the Strong Universal Network (SUNx), to develop resilient, Climate Friendly Travel, in alignment with the Paris 1.5 Trajectory and the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Today, during Climate Week NYC 2020, TOTA, SUNx Malta, and the World Travel and Tourism Council announced the launch of the global Climate Friendly Travel Registry for 2050 Climate Neutral & Sustainability Ambitions, as well as the Maurice Strong Climate Friendly Travel Youth Summit.
"Reducing carbon emissions is not an option, it is a necessity," said Glenn Mandziuk, President and CEO of TOTA. "We are all understanding the tremendous threat that Climate Change is to the world and are honored to partner with SUNx as a charter member of the Climate Friendly Travel Registry for 2050."
The Climate Friendly Travel Registry for 2050 Climate Neutral & Sustainability Ambitions is linked to the UNFCCC Climate Action Portal and is open to all Travel and Tourism companies and communities, anywhere in the world. The idea of a Climate Neutral Ambitions Registry was built into the Paris Agreement as a way for businesses to transparently declare and progressively increase their carbon reduction ambitions through 2050, with the greater mission of stabilizing global temperatures at tolerable levels for human survival.
"We are delighted to have the award winning Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association as a launch partner for our Climate Friendly Travel Registry. Their commitment to sustainability is second to none," said Professor Geoffrey Lipman, President of SUNx Malta. "We are doubly pleased by their agreement to host the Annual Maurice Strong Climate Friendly Travel Youth Summit, not only because it is a lasting legacy to the father of sustainable development, but it will highlight Maurice's intense climate activism nearly half a century before the Paris Agreement."
The SUNx System for Climate Friendly Travel recognizes the importance of placing Climate Resilience at the core of corporate and community planning decisions, with the Travel and Tourism sector as a major contributor and potential leader when it comes to human development and climate action.
To honour Maurice Strong’s legacy as a Sustainable Development pioneer, TOTA and SUNx are also partnering to launch the Maurice Strong Climate Friendly Travel Youth Summit. The inaugural summit will take place on April 29, 2021 as a virtual event, in partnership with the Malta Ministry for Tourism and Consumer Protection, and the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office.
Show your support for Climate Friendly Travel and join the Registry for 2050 Climate Neutral & Sustainability Ambitions: ClimateFriendly.travel
The announcement was recorded as part of a Climate Week NYC 2020 event. TOTA, SUNx Malta, and the World Travel and Tourism Council made the announcement and followed with a Q&A session.
About the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA):
The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association is a non-profit society, governed by an elected Board of Directors, which represents business and community tourism interests throughout the region, and is supported by the British Columbia Ministry of Tourism, Arts, & Culture. It is an industry-led organization that represents and supports all business and community tourism interests in the region, while also helping to implement provincial tourism policies. For more information, visit TOTABC.org.
About SUNx :
The Strong Universal Network (SUNx) is a global Travel & Tourism Climate Response system, designed to act as a catalyst for the sector to develop Climate Friendly Travel as well as a conduit to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) driven New Climate Economy. Operating globally from Malta, with a Registry of Climate Neutral Ambitions; a Climate Friendly Travel Diploma and an SDG17 led Climate Champions outreach program. Established as a legacy to Maurice Strong, Climate Activist and Sustainable Development Pioneer. In 2019, through a partnership with Malta’s Ministry for Tourism and Consumer Protection and Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), SUNx Malta was created to establish Malta as a Global Centre for Climate Friendly Travel. For more information, visit TheSunProgram.com.
