Daily now the reports confirm the world is at a threshold; at least two degrees hotter on average than it was in pre-industrialised times. We, of the Caribbean can hardly afford to lollygag. Something’s going to give and the way things work those who aren’t in position to dictate select or give, will be the ones who lose. Unconditionally.
But how can the Caribbean or any singular state in the region for that matter dictate pace or method of emission reduction? The problem seemingly is not one of ‘merely’ reducing Footprint but of deriving economic and other benefits along with Reduction. This is hard to contemplate when one doesn’t make the dirty products or have absolute control of people who use them. This right here is the catch-22 that comes with tourism: It encourages consumption.
Long viewed as the Caribbean’s money tree, tourism contributes heavily to the region’s carbon footprint. That being said the Caribbean is also a high value destination; appreciated worldwide as a refreshing and laid-back offering. This is a context with possibilities. What if we take charge of that power and enforce a way of working that product to elevate the tourism sector? In essence we’d have to flip the script: Tell the visitor what we do in our tropical paradise to keep it so and “Will you please do the same during your stay here?
If we could pull that off our future contribution to Netzero might be just the thing to encourage first world visitors to go back home and do even more for the emission reduction effort. In principle we want to be the best possible example of living the green and we want to make it our selling point also. Potentially this can impact behaviours of every stakeholder no matter where they are in the tourism value chain. The underlying and not so subtle implication? That the Caribbean people are in fact serious about carbon neutral tourism.
Balancing emissions is not the simplest of quandaries. Not even for nations with population ready and policies in place. But consider this. If the solution (Neutrality) can be sold to our visitor public as one Not of sacrifice but rather Staving off the tipping point, there is a chance Responsible (or Green) tourism might be greater than the sum of this industry’s parts.
Naturally there is a list of things to put in place. At destination level the priority must be for renewable energy. The scale of energy used to serve or generally enable the tourism sector has always been disproportionate, even obscene according to who’s talking. Add Conservation of natural resources (such as water) along with bespoke waste management systems, eco-friendly transport systems and strong approach to retrofitting old civil infrastructure. At the tourism property level some creativity will need to be deployed owners and managers. This is a zone with multiple points of conflict, where comfort tends to relate to memory that than imagination.
But options exist; lighting systems can be occupant sensitive - can revert to set but energy frugal state when not in use. Take food in such a future. Ideally, provisions can be traced back to local chemical free gardens. Meat might need to be flown in from nearer locales if its not actually in local production. Fishery operatives might want to demonstrate knowledge and practice of system that does not abuse natural stock. Linen too must have green pedigree - that is originate from places where the labour which created it are reaping benefits and not just a stipulated wage.
A hidden (intriguing) Caribbean wide window of opportunity - hidden in open as it were and one that actually may boost headcount is; for accommodations to show sensitivity to the footprint generated by clientele hailing from far off places.
Such footprint ‘sensitive’ properties want to seek out innovative ways to offset the carbon cost of those long hauls. For example, suitably placed guesthouses might want to market their ‘car free access’. Those not so blessed might want to engage electric vehicles for pickups. tours and the departure as part. The overall idea though is for Caribbean hoteliers apartment and guest-house owners to demonstrate awareness and more importantly action, in taking this part of the globe to Netzero. Think of it as the Caribbean offering climate carefree access.