Download Tourism-Oriented Solutions to Climate Change in the Republic of

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION
11/8/2008
West Windsor – Plainsboro High School North
Atharv Vaish and Brian Yuan
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION
TOURISM AND GLOBAL WARMING
OVERVIEW OF TOURISM AND GLOBAL WARMING
Climate change, an impact of the emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) could and
already has had dramatic effect on tourism. Tourism and climate are intricately connected, and
the attraction of tourist sites is nearly always either climate-based or climate aided. The
potential of climate change to dramatically disrupt the tourism sector is already a prominent
issue in the Republic of Ireland, which derives nearly 1.7 billion Euros profit from this industry.
In particular, the Irish aquatic systems could be very hard-hit by the effects of climate change.
Changing fresh water avalibility could render many resorts depending on a constant supply of
water uneconomical, and water recreation is threatened by the submersion of upwards of 300
Km2of prime Irish seacoast1.
TOURISM AND GLOBAL WARMING IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
In reaction to the dramatic threats posed by climate change to the tourism industry,
Ireland has begun a large sustainable tourism initiative, investing more than 800 million euros
in the tourism industry2, and in 2003 passed a bill creating the Failte Ireland, an agency that
regulates and assists in the development of tourism operations. Among the current goals of the
Failte Ireland has been the establishment of in-depth tourism criteria that analyze the
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Footprints of Industries. Working together with the Environmental
Protection Agency of Ireland and Sustainable Energy Ireland, the Failte Ireland will then use this
as a yardstick to analyze future tourism operations.
1
2
(Climate Change: Scenarios and Impacts for Ireland)
(National Development Plan 2007-2013)
ATHARV VAISH AND BRIAN YUAN
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REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION
A particularly important and vulnerable sector of the Irish tourism economy that the
Irish Government has taken steps to protect is golfing. Golf provides roughly 11% of all Irish
tourism revenue3, and in 2006, Ireland hosted the Ryder Cup golf tournament. As a result,
considerable attention has been focused on the preservation of delicate and historic courses
impacted by global warming. In paticular, the Failte Ireland is focused on dealing with the
possibility of rapidly fluctuating fresh water supplies due to climactic change. In fact,
Luttrelstown Castle Resort, a Dublin golfing site, became the first resort in the world to obtain a
Golf Environment Organization Certification4, and the Failte Ireland is planning to establish a
National Golf Club Charter to preserve courses in the Northwestern areas of the country5.
Ireland is also a member of the European Union, and is an active participant in its many
climate change programs, including the highly progressive 20% by 2020 initiative, in which
Ireland has so far pledged to meet a goal of 16% renewable energy by that date, a rough
doubling of present usage, as 8.6% of Ireland’s energy already originates from renewable
energy sources6. If current trends continue, Ireland stands to reduce emissions by 13.7 million
tons of greenhouse gasses7. Ireland is also a participant in the European Union’s Water
Framework Directive to protect the climate-dependent water resources of Ireland8 and a
signatory to the Kyoto Treaty.
3
(Irish Tourism Summary 2008)
(Golf Environment Organization)
5
(Failte Ireland Northwest Regional Tourism Development Plan 2008-2010)
6
(Energy in Ireland: Key Statistics)
7
(Irish Times)
8
(EU Water Framework Directive)
4
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REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION
TOURISM-ORIENTED SOLUTIONS TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
The Republic of Ireland considers climate change to be a crucial issue in future Irish
Policy, and has therefore implemented a number of measures to mitigate climate change
through education and impact reduction while encouraging ecotourism and sustainable
legislation to adapt to future climate change.
The Irish State is engaged in a variety of efforts to educate tourists as to ways to reduce
their carbon footprint, and offers a variety of services for tourists who wish to reduce their
effects on the environment, including encouraging vehicle renters to provide hybrid cars and
incentives for tourism enterprises that undergo climate change impact evaluations9, while
increasing emission standards for tour operators and public transportation most often used by
tourists.
Ireland is also a world leader in ecotourism, working with tourist operators from the
Pertigo to Laghey area10 to establish the Greenbox, within which all tourist sites meet strict
management and emissions standards, a system which the Republic of Ireland intends to
expand throughout the nation using a combination of effective incentives and eco-sensitive
legislation11.
9
(National Development Plan 2007-2013)
(Greenbox Corporation)
11
(Greenbox Corporation)
10
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REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION
Ireland is devoted to the cause of mitigating and adapting to climate change, and
considers the most important issue to be maintaining economic growth while dealing with
climate change12. Thus, the Republic of Ireland intends to use ecotourism and carbon-neutral
industry practices to create new jobs while attracting the growing eco-tourist market, and looks
for the cooperation of the European Union and industrialized nations as a whole to assist in the
growth of these young international markets.
12
(National Development Plan 2007-2013)
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REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION
Works Cited
Failte Ireland. 27 Oct. 2008 <http://failteireland.ie>.
Ireland. Ireland: National Climate Change Strategy 2007-2012. 8 Nov. 2008 <http://www.environ.ie/
en/Environment/Atmosphere/ClimateChange/NationalClimateChangeStrategy/>.
- - -. Environmental Protection Agency. Climate Change: Scenarios and Impacts for Ireland. 8 Nov. 2008
<http://www.epa.ie:8765/epa/query.html?qt=&col=epa&style=epa&charset=iso-8859-1>.
- - -. Failte Ireland. Failte Ireland Northwest Tourism Development Plan 2008 - 2010. 8 Nov. 2008
<http://www.failteireland.ie/getdoc/b071b375-6bc8-4583-9c05-17095b9806d4/Failte-IrelandNorth-West-Regional-Tourism-Develop>.
- - -. - - -. Tourism and the Enviornment: Fialte Ireland’s Enviornmental Action Plan 2007-2009. 8 Nov.
2008 <http://www.failteireland.ie/getdoc/e95123a9-a06a-4c9e-aa83-d6d4928751d0/
Search.aspx>.
Ki-Moon, Ban. “A New Green Economics.” Press Articles by the UN Secretary General 3 Dec. 2007. 29
Oct. 2008 <http://www.un.org/sg/print_green_economics.htm>.
“UNEP Activities on Tourism and Climate Change.” UNEP DTIE SCP Branch: Tourism. UNEP. 29 Oct.
2008 <http://www.unep.fr/scp/tourism/topics/climatechange/overview.htm>.
United Nations. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. 8
Nov. 2008 <http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/assessments-reports.htm>.
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