Germany Has Managed To Grow Its Tourism Industry While Reducing Carbon Footprint
Germany appears to have accomplished what appeared to be impossible. According to a new report co-produced by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Saudi-based Sustainable Tourism Global Center, the country has managed to grow its travel and tourism industry while simultaneously reducing its overall carbon emissions. According to new data from the report, Germany is one of only a few major countries to have accomplished such a feat. In 2019, the travel and tourism industry in Germany accounted for 10.3 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the country. This figure fell by more than four percentage points to 5.9 percent in 2020, then again to 5.8 percent in 2021. While the decreases are largely due to the pandemic’s aftermath, the report goes on to say that between 2010 and 2019 (before the pandemic), Germany’s travel and tourism industry “decoupled” its greenhouse gas emissions from its growth.
During that time frame, the country’s greenhouse gas emissions decreased an average of 1.1 percent each year, all while the travel and tourism industry’s contribution to Germany’s economy grew 1.5 percent each year, on average. “The figures also show that the sector’s emissions intensity continues to decrease,” says the report.
For instance, in 2010, for every Euro generated by travel and tourism in Germany, the travel and tourism industry emitted about 0.55 kg of greenhouse gas emissions. Fast forward to 2019, with travel and tourism reaching a crescendo, and the emissions figures had dropped by a whopping 22 percent, says the report. The 2019 figure was 0.43 kg per Euro created by the travel and tourism industry. And greenhouse gas emissions continued to drop in subsequent years, reaching an all-time low of 0.36 kg per Euro generated through the country’s tourism industry in 2021.
According to the report, the significant decline demonstrates the impact of changes implemented by the German government and business leaders to create a more sustainable sector. “Our data show that Germany is one of the few travel and tourism powerhouses that is reducing absolute emissions while growing year over year,” WTTC president and CEO Julia Simpson said in a statement. “The travel and tourism sector has decoupled its economic growth from its greenhouse gas emissions and is continuing to reduce its emissions intensity,” Simpson added. “In order to meet our goals and ambitions, we must take larger and more daring steps to reduce our absolute emissions.”
According to the report, the significant drop demonstrates the impact of changes implemented by the German government and business leaders to create a more sustainable sector. “Our data show that Germany is one of the few travel and tourism powerhouses that is reducing absolute emissions while growing year over year,” Julia Simpson, WTTC president and CEO, said in a statement. “The travel and tourism sector has decoupled economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions and continues to reduce emissions intensity, but we know there is still work to be done,” Simpson added. “To achieve our goals and ambitions, we must take bigger and bolder steps to reduce our absolute emissions.”
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