Progress report for
SUNx - Strong Universal Network
Achievement at a glance
In the past 12 months the following foundations have been laid:• Announced the partnership and its “Plan For Our Kids” in Malta: Brussels (in the European Parliament): London (at World Travel Market) & New York (During UN Sec. General’s Climate Action Summit).
• Issued, with WTTC, the first Annual Climate Friendly Travel Ambitions Report for Travel & Tourism in the side-lines of the UN General Assembly. https://www.thesunprogram.com/images/pdfs/cft-ambitions-report-2019-web.pdf
• Hosted the first Strong Climate Event at the time of the UN Assembly, with attendance from leaders in the sector, & the environment movement.
• Creating a Malta-based global Climate Neutral 2050 Registry for Travel & Tourism Companies & Communities, linked to the UNFCCC NAZCA Register. Launch 07/2020.
• Held the first Climate Friendly Travel Think Tank in Malta (and Gozo) which gathered 35 international thought-leaders to review the state of the sector report and produced a widely circulated outcomes report. This annual event will help strengthen global research / development frameworks, as well as improve links between concept, planning and transformation trajectories. https://www.thesunprogram.com/images/pdfs/SUNx_Malta_CFT_Think_Tank_Report.pdf
• Created the world’s first Climate Friendly Travel Diploma with The Institute of Tourism Studies, Malta (ITS) to teach annually 300 graduate students (in residence in Gozo and online) to help activate company and community Paris 1.5 transformation.
• Launched Climate Champions Programs in Cambodia & Indonesia with the EXO Travel Foundation; in Crete with Hania Hotels Association; in Guyana: and starting soon in Canada with Ingle International. These are prototypes for a plan for 100,000 smart young climate crisis activists, across all UN States by 2030, to help companies and communities transform.
• Proposed a Climate Neutral 2050 Moon-shot for Aviation, as a primary driver of Travel & Tourism - given its increasingly isolated reliance on fossil fuel propulsion.
Challenges faced in implementation
Our main challenge for the first three years of operation was funding. SUNx was self-financed from 2016-19 with support from volunteers and Council of Advisors. In 2019 a landmark initial 5-year SDG-17 Agreement was signed with Malta Tourism Authority and\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\nMinistry for Tourism and Consumer Protection to make Malta a worldwide centre for Climate Friendly Travel with a “Plan For Our Kids” Strategy, driven by SUNx Malta. We operate under the patronage of the Minister for Tourism and Consumer Protection, Hon. Julia Farrugia Portelli, in partnership with Malta Tourism Authority. Thanks to this partnership we have been able to achieve all of the above in less than a year and are developing the program at a fast pace thanks to the support and vision of our colleagues in Malta.Beneficiaries
Companies, communities and individuals.\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\nTravel & Tourism is delivered by millions of companies and destinations around the world all of whom will be initially encouraged, and ultimately regulated, to achieve Climate Neutral operations by 2050. Countries’ NDCs will be integrated with national accounting to capture consumption at both the household and company level. This Carbon Accountability will soon become the norm. \\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\nIn 2019, Travel & Tourism’s direct, indirect and induced impact accounted for: US$8.9 trillion contribution to the world’s GDP, 10.3% of global GDP, 330 million jobs, 1 in 10 jobs around the world.\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\nThe impact of Travel & Tourism is even greater than this due to the cross-cutting nature of the supply chain and the different supporting industries involved. Within the next 5-10 years every Travel & Tourism company in the UK will be required to be accountable for its environmental impact. \\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\r\\\\\\\\nThe SUNx System will support the transformation of the industry to meet its commitments under the Paris Accord, by training young committed people to implement Climate Friendly Travel strategies in businesses, government, and communities. Training will take place through the CFT Diploma in Malta and then in student home countries. It will be this next generation of change-makers that ensure that NDC implementation is integrated into company activity and Tourism strategy.