The year is 2098. It's summer, but Rio's beaches are practically empty. Impossible to stay under the scorching sun of 49 degrees Celsius (°C). Superstructures with strong night lighting are now used for beach users, but the high temperature of the sea makes bathing in the sea unpleasant. In Brasilia, underground tunnels have become the best way to protect the population from extreme temperatures. The city of São Paulo has already adopted more than 1,000 "Climate Shelters". In Minas Gerais, in 24 hours it rained about 950 mm in 24 hours, the Inhotim Cultural Institute, unfortunately lost part of its collection, and in Ouro Preto two churches succumbed to the heavy rains. The Pantanal is practically dry, the rivers of the Amazon, once again, in critical condition. The Itajaí Valley, once again under the waters.
In an increasingly uncertain future, the climate emergency can be considered as one of the most important consequences of the Anthropocene. Across the planet, climate change poses threats to humans to grow and thrive. According to UNICEF (2023), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assesses that we have about seven years to make the necessary transformations to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. To this end, the unlikely 45% cut in the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 2030 could prevent global warming above 1.5 or C – that is, the limit at which the worst impacts of climate change could be avoided.
The FAPESC Magazine (2023) reports that the month of July 2023 was the hottest month in the planet's recent history, according to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), of the European Union. The average temperature for the month across the globe was 16.95 degrees Celsius (°C). The goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C – a level that, in theory, would not yet be so harmful to the planet – seems increasingly difficult to achieve.
The Swede Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, coordinated a survey with a group of researchers and identified the nine limiting factors that guarantee the stability of the Earth and human life, namely: 1. climate change, 2. integrity of the biosphere, 3. changes in land use, 4. availability of fresh water, 5. biogeochemical fluxes (represented by the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles), 6. ocean acidification, 7. aerosol load in the atmosphere, 8. depletion of the ozone layer and the 9. "new entities" (particles that did not exist in nature and were introduced by human action, such as microplastics, transgenics and nuclear waste). According to research carried out in 2009, three barriers had already been overcome. In 2015, there were already four. This year, 2023, researchers warned that it jumped to six (Gama, G. Publica, 2023)
From north to south of the Brazilian territory, strong evidence in relation to climate change already challenges the limits of the environmental services provided by the six Brazilian biomes (Amazon, Caatinga, Cerrado, Pantanal, Atlantic Forest and Pampa) and demonstrates the most striking risks and threats. Because it is located in one of the most imposing and diverse neotropical biogeographic landscapes on the planet, each Brazilian municipality holds a little piece of landscape in the form of a natural monument, a paradisiacal beach, breathtaking islands, a bend in a river, a type of endemism, that unforgettable smell of rain when it touches the soil of the Cerrado, of the green estuaries covered with mangroves, the refreshing waterfalls, the caves, the soils, the subsoil, in short, the elements of the biosphere, fauna and flora.
Over the centuries, Pindorama has also kept an impressive archaeological collection, of traditional cultures and communities, and its handicrafts. In the last 500 years, historic towns and cities still retain precious architecture adapted to the climate and natural resources. In each municipality, the shape and structure of the complex neotropical landscape also bequeathed a Denomination of Controlled Origin (DOC) or a Geographical Indication, either by Indication of Origin (IP) or by Denomination of Origin (DO) of numerous products.
In this mosaic of landscapes of the Brazilian territory, the science of tourism is one of those that has the look, the ability and the elegance to evaluate the potentialities and opportunities of the geographical space. However, rapid actions are urgently needed to assess the risks and vulnerability of natural, historical, artistic, and cultural heritage through plans, programs, and projects in the face of the climate emergency. Considering the complex and long production chain of the tourism sector, it is urgent to establish strategies related to solidarity tourism that can contribute to climate justice.
In the scenario of inequality in the Brazilian territory, climate change can disproportionately affect the most vulnerable and unprotected communities, especially traditional communities, as well as those located in the precarious structure of the peripheries of large and medium-sized Brazilian tourist cities. Adaptation Plans are urgent, which should seek polycentric governance capable of establishing short, medium and long-term actions in a participatory and integrated manner. In this sense, think not only in years, but in decades. can be considered fundamental, especially through the integration of sectoral, environmental, urban and territorial public policies.
In this sense, the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism launched in October 2023 the document: Climate Action in Tourism in Brazil - First Steps Towards a National Climate Action Plan for Brazilian Tourism (Brasil, 2023). This aims to establish a strategic planning program of the Ministry of Tourism of Brazil, in relation to climate change until the year 2030, which corroborates the United Nations SDG Agenda. A set of climate macro actions was established that should be prioritized in the planning of the Ministry of Tourism, the following being the priorities:
- Create a sectoral plan for mitigation and adaptation to climate change in tourism;
- Develop financial solutions aimed at sustainable investments
- Prepare an inventory of emissions in the sector with a methodology aligned with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI);
- Identify methodologies for measuring sustainability indicators;
- Include tourism in the Interministerial Committee on Climate Change (CIM), among others.
The document also assesses the strategic need for synergistic action between different institutions in the national, subnational, private and civil society public spheres, which was identified as key to the success of climate action in the tourism sector. In this sense, polycentric governance becomes a strategic element, because according to Elinor Ostrom (2010), it is characterized by the greater participation of governmental and non-governmental actors in multilateral negotiation forums.
Therefore, two perspectives are put into action to achieve it, the one adopted by the Ministry of Tourism, in this first phase, follows the one that results according to Marques and Alves (2010) from the construction of policies with a top-down approach, which establishes the territory as the main field of reference for the understanding of institutional relations in relation to the theme. This creates common conditions and interests and an institutional capacity capable of promoting the necessary actions for behavior change.
However, the bottom-up approach is still necessary, which should consist of building a base of strategic and tactical cooperation networks at the local and regional scale, which seeks to establish climate justice in favor of the exercise of citizenship and with effective multiplier effect throughout the tourism production chain. Time is pressing.
Bibliographies:
Agência Pública 2023. The Earth is too weak to receive the blows we are giving', warns scientist (Gabriel Gama). Available at: tps://apublica.org/2023/10/a-terra-esta-muito-fraca-para-receber-as-pancadas-que-estamos-dando-alerta-cientista/ Accessed on 21 Oct.2023. 2023.
Brazil. Climate Action in Tourism in Brazil: First Steps Towards a National Climate Action Plan for Brazilian Tourism. 7p. 2023. Available at: Https://www.gov.br/turismo/pt-br/centrais-de-conteudo-/publicacoes/BID_Acao_Climatica_Turismo_VFinal2.pdf Accessed on 29 Oct. 2023.
Marques, T. S., Alves, P. The challenge of polycentric governance. Prospectiva e Planning, Vol. 17−2010.
NAEA The Role of Subnational Actors in Polycentric Climate Governance: the case of Pará. UFPA. 2023
Ostrom, E. A Long Polycentric Journey. Annu. Rev. Pol. Sci., v.13, 2010
FAPESC Magazine July 2023 was the hottest month in the planet's recent history . Available at: Https://revistapesquisa.fapesp.br/julho-de-2023-foi-o-mes-mais-quente-na-historia-recente-do-planeta/ Accessed on: 21 out. 2023
