Greening the Islands (GTI) Foundation actively participated in the 2024 UN Climate Conference, COP29, spotlighting progress on 100% renewable islands and the importance of early-stage financing for their decarbonisation strategies. Among several other engagements, GTI Foundation organised three side events in the Blue zone.
On November 20, the session “Rethinking Tourism in the Mediterranean in a Sustainable Way through Regional Cooperation,” was hosted at the Mediterranean Pavilion. During the event, we presented the Dialogue4Tourism project, promoting institutional dialogue on sustainable tourism and governance in the Euro-Med, as part of the Interreg Euro-Med program.
The event successfully explored the barriers, best practices, and tools for promoting sustainable tourism in the Mediterranean and fostered regional cooperation to harmonise its development across the region. Discussions drew on lessons learned within the Dialogue4Tourism project.
The session advanced the role of small islands as drivers of a new tourism paradigm that benefits local communities, visitors, and the environment. Tourism represents the main source of income for islands in the region but also generates significant challenges due to seasonal stress on energy, water, food, waste, and ecosystems.
Alongside nature and community-based solutions, innovative business models, and proper policies, renewable energy can be a powerful asset in empowering nexus and circularity among different sectors, helping islands establish new virtuous tourism models while reducing footprint and supporting local economies.
The event was enriched with the participation of esteemed speakers and partners: Grammenos Mastrojeni – Senior Deputy Secretary General of the Union of Mediterranean; Pierluigi Sassi – Director of Earthday Europe Network; and Giulia Giordano – Director Mediterranean and Global Strategy of ECCO think tank.
We thank our sponsors: Gewiss, Blue Planet Alliance, Bluenova, BSW German Solar Association, and ReAir.
