18 March 2013: The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have signed a Joint Statement on Aviation and Tourism, which includes an intention to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from aviation and tourism.

The Statement reviews the history of cooperation between ICAO and UNWTO, and addresses how the two organizations will strengthen collaborative efforts moving forward. It recalls that in 2010, the two organizations signed a Memorandum of Co-operation to strengthen collaboration in several areas of strategic importance to air transport and tourism, including sustainable development, in particular, environmental protection, mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change.

Looking ahead, the Statement indicates the intention of the two organizations to “further optimize the benefits of aviation and tourism” through, inter alia, contributing to the reduction of GHG emissions from aviation and tourism.

Raymond Benjamin, ICAO Secretary General, and Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary General, signed the Joint Statement during the official opening of the ICAO Sixth Worldwide Air Transport Conference, which has convened under the theme “Sustainability of Air Transport.” [Joint Statement on Aviation and Tourism][UNWTO Press Release] [ICAO Press Release]