Climate Change is a complex and sometimes confusing subject. There are many useful tools and resources to help you get started and to increase your knowledge on climate change and its potential impact on your business.
Tourism Australia fact sheets
Tourism Australia have issued a number of fact sheets that will be of great assistance in your efforts to reduce your carbon footprint. These include:
- Energy fact sheet - tips on how to reduce your energy usage
- Water fact sheet – tips on how to reduce your water consumption
- Waste fact sheet – tips on how to reduce your waste
- Green advertising and marketing fact sheet – tips on how to effectively and responsibly market your green initiatives
- Green events – tips on how to host a green event
- Business events fact sheet – tips on how to host a green business event
Impact of Carbon Tax on Tourism Visitation and Expenditure
The AEC Group on behalf of Tourism WA has undertaken a high level analysis of the potential impact of the proposed Carbon Tax on visitation and expenditure levels in eight select tourism locations in Western Australia. These locations include Broome, Kununurra, Ningaloo / Exmouth, Perth, Kalgoorlie, Margaret River Region, Albany, Esperance.
The report is intended for tourism industry and operators to inform planning to adapt to climate change and the introduction of the carbon tax. The report can also potentially guide RTOs in developing future marketing plans for specific regions and inform investors when making business decisions about tourism development opportunities.
Download the Impact of Carbon Tax report (PDF 5MB)
Climate Change Guide: Adaptation for the Margaret River Wine Region
The Climate Change Guide: Adaptation for the Margaret River Wine Region provides a summary of the key outcomes of research undertaken by the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC) and possible measures to assist the tourism industry adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Its production is consistent with the objectives of the National Long Term Tourism Strategy Industry Resilience Working Group and provides a useful industry resource to support tourism businesses in relation to this matter.
Download the Climate Change Guide: Adaptation for the Margaret River Wine Region (PDF 7MB)
Other useful resources
Much has been written on the subject of climate change and the following website links and references will be invaluable to your research:
Western Australia
Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) through their programme Small Business Big Impact provides industry with practical ways to reduce their carbon emissions. The SBDC site also provides a wealth of useful information for those in small business and is highly recommended.
Department of Environment & Conservation (DEC) houses the Western Australian Government's Office of Climate Change (OCC) which in turn is responsible for a whole of government policy and strategy, focussing on the economic, environmental and social impacts of climate change.
Office of Energy provides the business sector with assistance in attaining best practice energy management with opportunities to achieve financial savings and increased competiveness.
Indian Ocean Climate Initiative (IOCI) is a research partneship between the state government, CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology to investigate the cause of climate change and develop projections of the future climate in Western Australia.
National
CSIRO Australia is responding to the climate change challenge. As Australia's largest research organisation, CSIRO is delivering the full spectrum of research required for Australia to respond to and plan for climate change.
Tourism Australia
Incorporating greener practices into your business is one of the most powerful ways to make a difference, not just to your own bottom line, but also to the environment – both now and into the future. Every little thing you do makes a difference. This section of the Tourism Australia website is dedicated to providing you with the tools, resources and messages to make sustainability happen.
The Garnaut Climate Change Review (PDF 161KB)
Professor Ross Garnaut was commissioned by all of the governments of Australia’s federation to examine the impacts of climate change on Australia and to recommend policy frameworks to improve the prospects of sustainable prosperity. The Garnaut Climate Change Review examines the impacts of climate change on the Australian economy and the costs of adaptation and mitigation. It analyses the elements of an appropriate international policy response, and the challenges that face Australia in playing its proportionate part in that response. Note this is a very large pdf.
The Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC) (PDF 4.52MB)
The scoping study, undertaken by Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC), has explored the impacts of climate change on five key tourism destinations which were selected on the basis of their varying degrees of vulnerability. The destinations were Tropical North Queensland, Kakadu, the Barossa Valley, the Victorian Alps and the Blue Mountains. This site contains a number of other research reports on climate change, including a holiday carbon calculator.
The Parliament of Australia
Climate change - its causes, consequences and responses -is a major subject of political debate in Australia and overseas. It is a subject on which there is a wealth of information produced by experts from a range of different perspectives - scientific, economic, legal, social policy and foreign affairs. It is also a subject about which even the experts are often not in agreement. The website includes useful information sources and explains core concepts and developments necessary in understanding and responding to the climate change debate.
Other State Government Tourism Offices
There is a great deal of climate change information available on other state government tourism websites. Some valuable insights can be obtained on:
Queensland
Northern Territory
Tasmania
South Australia
New South Wales
Victoria
International
World Tourism Organisations Climate Change website provides tools and resources to help the tourism sector reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.
United Nations Environment Programme's report on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in the Tourism Sector: Frameworks, Tools and Practices (PDF 2.11MB) provides practical information and examples of tourism sector adaptation and mitigation activities that will help tourism businesses build their own capacity to implement climate change initiatives.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assesses the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the risks associated by climate change.