The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry said it has launched the Carbon Footprint Calculator (CFPC) and Carbon Offsetting program for improving the reputation of and public trust in Indonesia’s tourism sector.
“This program is one of the efforts to handle the impact of climate change caused by tourism activity,” Tourism and Creative Economy Vice Minister Angela Tanoesoedibjo said in a press statement issued on Wednesday.
At virtual dissemination on eco-friendly tourism in tourism destinations, she said that environmental conservation is the most valuable asset for the development of sustainable tourism.
“If we wish to pass down the economic benefit of the tourism sector to the future generation, various innovations and collaborations with the concept of climate-friendly tourism have to be realized quickly,” she remarked.
According to Nature Climate Change’s research in 2018, the global tourism industry produced eight percent of the world’s carbon emissions, primarily from transportation, shopping, and food, she noted.
“This certainly becomes our collective attention and should be a part of our responsibility as a stakeholder from the tourism sector,” Tanoesoedibjo remarked.
The program, which the ministry has launched in collaboration with jejak.in and Indonesia Sustainable Tourism Council (ISTC), is expected to improve the understanding of all stakeholders and the public on climate change, she informed.
It is also expected to disseminate information on technological innovation and handle this problem from the perspective of the tourism sector, she said.
Along with jejak.in, the ministry is calculating emissions produced through tourism under different categories such as electricity utilization and transportation fuel, she informed.
In addition, it is also offering an offsetting program, such as tree plantation, to tourists to mitigate the carbon footprint from their travel, she said.
According to the vice minister, the program aligns with the G20 theme and agenda that Indonesia has proposed as the forum’s host for 2022.
“Indonesia invited the entire world to work together, to support one another for a collective recovery, and to grow stronger and sustainably with the theme ‘Recover together, recover stronger,’” she remarked.
As a sector that relies on natural beauty, all stakeholders must uphold environmental conservation, she said.
The more the environment is maintained, the more beneficial it will be for the advancement of the tourism sector and the people’s prosperity, she explained.
Source: Antara News