Hotelier vows to abide by Cop26 declaration on climate action in Tourism

Mombasa, Kenya, Nov 15 -Local hotel chain, Pride Inn has vowed to abide by the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism through initiatives aligned to the UN’s Race to Zero campaign’s goal of having less emissions by 2030 and achieving Net Zero by 2050.

The Glasgow Declaration was launched as part of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) which took place between October 31 and November 12  in Glasgow, Scotland.

While lauding the declaration as a pivotal step in achieving sustainable tourism, the hotel group’s Managing Director Hasnain Noorani noted that it will aid the alignment of the sector which he said is among the most vulnerable to climate change.

“We are excited about this declaration and how it can help our tourism sector get aligned to the climate change agenda,” Noorani said.

Among the initiatives put in place to mitigate climate change by the hotel include doing away with single-use plastics, beach cleaning and conservation, and working closely with the fishing community in rescuing emerging newborn turtles on the coastline.

Already, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has announced that the ministry will require all hospitality and tourism facilities in Kenya to adopt renewable energy and circular economy in their operations as part of Kenya’s commitment to achieving sustainable tourism by 2030.

“It is imperative that as we demand more action against emissions as well as resources to mitigate the threats to our economy and livelihoods of our people, we must likewise play our part in reducing our own footprint in any way possible,” he said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, during a side meeting on ‘accelerating clean energy technology innovation and deployment’ at the Cop26 event, told the international community that Kenya is determined and on course to achieve a full transition to clean energy by the year 2030.

The President noted that renewable energy currently accounts for 73 percent of Kenya’s installed power generation capacity while 90 percent of electricity in use is from green sources among them geothermal, wind, solar, and hydro-electric installations.