At La Résidence we believe that tourism can have a positive impact on individuals and communities, it has certainly enriched our lives. It can also create social and economic benefits for local communities and help with conservation of natural and cultural heritage.

However, it is also contributing to the climate crisis. The travel industry is responsible for 8% of total global emissions contributing to global warming that threatens our natural environment.

That is why we have signed up to Tourism Declares, an initiative that supports tourism businesses, organisations and individuals in declaring a climate emergency and taking purposeful action to reduce their carbon emissions.

Like all signatories, we have committed to the following five actions:

1. Develop a ‘Climate Emergency Plan’ within the next 12 months, which sets out our intentions to reduce carbon emissions over the next decade.
2. Share an initial public declaration of our ‘Climate Emergency Plan’, and update on progress each year.
3. Accept current Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) advice stating the need to cut global carbon emissions to 55% below 2017 levels by 2030 to keep the planet within 1.5 degrees of warming.
4. Encourage our partners to make the same declaration; sharing best practice amongst peers; and actively participate in the Tourism Declares community.
5. Advocate for change. We recognise the need for system change across the industry to accelerate a just transition towards carbon-free tourism.

These are grand statements but essentially what it means is we need to do more to lessen our impact on the planet. If you would like to know more about our progress, sign up to receive news and updates from us on our carbon reduction initiatives.

Please consider also declaring at www.tourismdeclares.com, and follow on @tourismdeclares on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.