Speaking at the TBLI Nordic Conference, Professor Geoffrey Lipman, co-founder of SUNx (Strong Universal Network – a legacy to Maurice Strong) said that Travel & Tourism has enormous investment potential in the transformation to the New Climate Economy.
He underscored the global scale, scope and impact of the sector, as well its capacity to help deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals, because travel is hardwired into human DNA.
He focused on the existential reality of climate change as the pivotal challenge for humanity and stressed the critical importance of urgent action across the sector, to transform the complex mobility and hospitality infrastructure, its service delivery and its lengthy supply chains. He identified the Paris Accords and SDG-13 as our lifeline framework.
Lipman said that the full impact will only be felt by future generations, whether travellers, suppliers or communities, and he outlined SUNx “Plan for our Kids”, to create a change movement of 100,000 Strong Climate Champions by 2030. They will be advocates for Climate Friendly Travel ~ measured to manage: green to grow: 2050 proof to innovate. They will be supported by Maurice Strong Legacy Scholarships and the SUNx Lifetime Learning Program. They will be enabled by a growing network of SDG-17 partnerships and referenced agreements with IRISS and t-Forum for Tourism Innovation for Resilience Scholarships in Naples Italy, and with CBCGDF to extend the system in China and Belt and Road Countries.
He appealed to the Impact Investment Community, as well as the Travel & Tourism industry to get behind the program, through CSR driven commitment to a progressive, but urgent transformation plan that takes advantage of market and regulatory systems, within finite planetary boundaries.
