COP29: Over 50 countries endorse plans to promote sustainable tourism in Baku

Over 50 countries at the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Summit (COP29) in Baku, have endorsed an agreement to promote sustainable tourism in an effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions globally.

This was made known by the COP29 organisers on Wednesday in Azerbaijan. The initiative, themed “the Declaration on Enhanced Action in Tourism,” was launched in partnership with United Nations Tourism and aimed at driving climate action within the global tourism sector.

“Endorsed by over 50 countries, the declaration commits endorsers to promote sustainable tourism by reducing emissions, safeguarding ecosystems, and integrating tourism into national climate and environmental policy documents,” the statement said.

It noted that the inclusion of tourism in the COP29 Action Agenda for the first time, under the Presidency of Azerbaijan, is a significant milestone for the sector, addressing both its economic and environmental impacts.

Climate transparency

On Wednesday, amidst lingering concerns over the ongoing COP negotiations, the COP29 Presidency said it remains committed to advancing climate transparency under the Enhanced Transparency Framework.

At the High Level Opening on Multilevel and Multisectoral Climate Action, the COP29 President, Mukhtar Babayev, emphasised the need for all Parties to unite for a common financial goal, moving forward into a mission to enhance ambition and enable action.

On Monday, the eighth day at COP, the Baku Transparency Platform seeks to support enhanced ambition in Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) as the Presidency celebrates early BTR submissions.

The day, which signified the inaugural Human Development Day at COP saw the adoption of the Baku Guiding Principles on Human Development.

“Children are at the core of human development, sitting at the heart of #ClimateAction. On #World Children’s Day, we emphasise the pivotal role of global efforts toward a climate-resilient future to safeguard a more sustainable life for future generations,” the COP29 organisers said.

Through global initiatives launched during #COP29Azerbaijan, the UN said they have collectively centred human development to support healthier populations and better education, enabling parties to effectively address climate change for the generations to come.

COP29

This year, the world’s famous climate summit -COP29, dubbed the “finance COP” is expected to deliver a more ambitious climate finance target to help vulnerable countries address climate change impacts.

With less than four days to the end of the COP negotiations in Baku, Parties and delegations are enthusiastic about world leaders fulfilling the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) target, designed to provide support for vulnerable communities in global climate solutions.

However, many delegates and negotiators, particularly those from the Global South have expressed displeasure over perceived weak commitments and sabotage from wealthy nations.