Professor Geoffrey Lipman delivers keynote address to Caribbean Chamber of Commerce in Europe, warning that global sustainability frameworks are failing - urging a generational reset.

Speaking on World Environment Day at a UNESCO seminar hosted by the Caribbean Chamber of Commerce in Europe (CCCE), Professor Geoffrey Lipman, President of SUNx Malta and former President of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), and Assistant Secretary General, UNWTO, delivered a stark warning to the global tourism community: the sustainability frameworks underpinning the sector are failing, and a radical shift in thinking is urgently needed.

Drawing on six decades of experience in sustainable tourism, including senior roles at IATA, UNWTO and WTTC, Professor Lipman told delegates that the three pillars of the global green order are in crisis. SDG targets are forecast to be missed by 80%, the Montreal-Kunming Biodiversity framework faces equivalent gaps in funding and legal architecture, and the existential Paris 1.5°C climate pathway is "dying" as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise year on year.

He called on the sector to rethink hollow declarations and embrace what he termed "Carney-world new realism" - a reference to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's call at Davos for a pragmatic reassessment of the post-war international order.

"Our global sustainability model is becoming unsustainable," Professor Lipman said. "We are re-arranging the policy deckchairs on the Titanic, summit after summit, while falling short on 80% of our own self-declared targets."

Against this backdrop, SUNx Malta announced two significant programme expansions. The organisation's flagship 'Education to Action - A Plan For Our Kids' initiative - encompassing a postgraduate Climate Friendly Travel Diploma with over 150 graduates, 40 grassroots CFT Chapters across Small Island and Developing States, and a CFT Registry of more than 1,000 enrolled companies - will be complemented next month by a second foundation, SxBGI (SUNx BestStar Global Institute), established at the Hub for Humanity in The Hague in partnership with BestStar Holding Group, a major multi-sector development platform focussed on practical humanitarian solutions, led by Dr Arthur Eilers.

SxBGI will support climate-focused start-ups, new technologies and community projects, and will anchor a CFT Humanitarian Study Group taking families to visit Climate Friendly Travel destinations across the Global South. The programme will also expand the Dodo4Kids campaign - which uses books, cartoons and games to teach children about climate and environmental threats - following a recent launch in Malta that sent 1,000 books to children in Ukraine with the backing of the Deputy Prime Minister of Malta and the Secretary General of UN Tourism.

Professor Lipman closed with a challenge to his own generation: "Maybe we can recognise the New Reality - but it will be our kids and grandkids who master it. Our job is to start right now and genuinely help them on the path."

About SUNx Malta

SUNx Malta is a legacy program of the late Maurice Strong, built to support Climate Friendly Travel – low carbon, SDG-linked, and Paris 1.5-aligned. It is supported by the Malta Tourism Authority and its Tourism Observatory. Working with partners like the Institute of Tourism Studies Malta, SUNx develops climate resilience through education, innovation, and global engagement.

Media Contact: Olly Wheatcroft olly@thesunprogram.com

 The Strong Earth Festival focuses on fostering ways to encourage changes for a resilient future of travel and tourism industry. It will profile Climate Friendly Travel - Paris 1.5, SDG-linked and Nature Positive.

The event will also talk about various initiatives by us at SUNx Malta in our mission to advance Climate Friendly Travel, and how we plan to partner with our SDG 17 partners to work on joint initiatives. In addition, the event will also cover youth-led initiatives undertaken by our team, such as Global Dodo4Kids Climate Writing Competition.

We would like to invite you to join us at the Strong Earth Festival 2026. The free virtual event will take place April 29, 2026.

Please Click Here to Register

About SUNx Malta SUNx Malta is a legacy program of the late Maurice Strong, built to support Climate Friendly Travel – low carbon, SDG-linked, and Paris 1.5-aligned. It is supported by the Malta Tourism Authority. Working with partners like the Institute of Tourism Studies Malta, SUNx develops climate resilience through education, innovation, and global engagement.

#SustainableTourism #ClimateResilience #NaturePositive #ClimateAction #ClimateActionNow

Speaking at the WTN “Rebuilding Travel” Event at ITB Berlin, Professor Geoffrey Lipman President of SUNx Malta, announced a new initiative with IIPT (International Institute for Peace & Tourism) and WTN (World Tourism Network).
 

The two organisations will make Dodo4Kids available electronically in the 450 IIPT Peace Parks around the world. Dodo4Kids is SUNx Malta’s flagship program to teach Climate Friendly Travel to early learners, in books cartoons and games with a reincarnated Dodo bird visiting tourism icons to warn about the Climate: Sustainability and Nature threats they face.

Lipman said: “We are delighted to help strengthen the impact of Peace Parks by focussing more attention on future generations - as well as showing the real threats to their wellbeing as travellers, in the years ahead. And it’s terrific to have the World Tourism Network on board to spread this initiative further.” 

Ajay Prakash, President of IIPT said: “This collaboration will showcase the meaningfulness of our Peace Parks in these serious times for global peace and provide real content for our young visitors and their family members.”

Juergen Steinmetz Chairman of WTN called it “An important message, that we in WTN are proud to be helping deliver across our global network.”

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About SUN^x Malta SUN^x Malta is a legacy program of the late Maurice Strong, built to support Climate Friendly Travel – low carbon, SDG-linked, and Paris 1.5-aligned. It is supported by the Malta Tourism Authority and its Tourism Observatory. Working with partners like the Institute of Tourism Studies Malta, SUN^x develops climate resilience through education, innovation, and global engagement.

About The International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT)
The International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) is a not for profit organization dedicated to fostering travel and tourism initiatives that contribute to international understanding, cooperation among nations, an improved quality of environment, cultural enhancement and the preservation of heritage, poverty reduction, reconciliation and healing wounds of conflicts; and through these initiatives, helping to bring about a peaceful and sustainable world

Reflecting on COP 30, we believe at SUNx that there is one overriding, harsh message. The current global Climate Crisis response – including its tourism component – however well meaning, will simply not be enough to slow down the intensifying extreme weather impacts or counter the hovering planetary “tipping points” we are facing. 

Our world confronts an increasingly bleak future, punctuated by these annual voluntary pledging & review sessions, that never go far enough, fast enough to prevent dramatically worsening heat, drought, wildfires, hurricanes, floods & sea-level surges.

By the time the world reaches our targeted 2050 net zero goal, today’s children will be the adults tasked with navigating whatever environment we are shaping today. At SUNx Malta we believe we must prepare our kids & grandkids now, for that future. 

And that is why we launched Dodo4Kids for the very earliest learners and their families while traveling and when they return home. It introduces climate awareness through fun, online books, cartoons, gamification and the like – helping children understand the challenges ahead in a way that is honest yet hopeful. Our extinct Dodo is reincarnated to spark curiosity in the tourism wonders of our planet and give young minds the tools to adapt to the dominant impact of climate change that threatens them.

Yes, Tourism must play its full part in greenhouse gas reduction but we can only do so much. We can and must do more to adapt to the new realities – and the earlier the better. It is a skill that today’s children will have to rely on more than any generation before them. Fortunately, they will have the massive power of AI supported technology, which we never had, to shape their responses. And their inherent curiosity that we can harness from the outset in their learning patterns. We want to turn education into action, working in collaboration with AI. 

For more, please listen to Paul Wilke’s podcast with SUNx Malta’s Geoffrey Lipman on our Website, Spotify, or YouTube. For more information, please contact us at dodo@thesunprogram.com

#Dodo4Kids #COP30 #Belem #SustainableTourism #ClimateResilience #NaturePositive #YouthVoices #ClimateAction #ClimateActionNow

About SUNx Malta SUNx Malta is a legacy program of the late Maurice Strong, built to support Climate Friendly Travel – low carbon, SDG-linked, and Paris 1.5-aligned. It is supported by the Malta Tourism Authority. Working with partners like the Institute of Tourism Studies Malta, SUNx develops climate resilience through education, innovation, and global engagement.

The SUNx Institute (SUNx Malta) and the World Academy of Sustainable Development Limited (WAOSD) today announced a long-term strategic partnership under the UN Sustainable Development Goal-17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The collaboration brings together SUNx’s globally recognised Climate Friendly Travel (CFT) framework with WAOSD’s scientific leadership and extensive networks across China and Belt & Road countries to accelerate climate-positive transformation in the Travel & Tourism sector.

Both organisations share a common conviction: Climate Change is an existential threat. Guided by the CFT Framework which is based on the Paris 1.5°C target, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, the partnership aims to fast-track resilience and sustainable transformation across destinations and businesses.

Under the agreement, SUNx and WAOSD will jointly advance four core deliverables designed to strengthen climate action throughout the tourism ecosystem:

1. Promote Climate Friendly Travel (CFT) Across China & Belt & Road Countries
   The partners will launch coordinated outreach, training, and knowledge-exchange activities to introduce SUNx CFT system - Education-to-Action - to government bodies, Tourism authorities, industry associations, and academic institutions across the region.

 

3. Encourage Hotels & Tourism Enterprises to Join the CFT Registry
   WAOSD will support SUNx in driving hotel and tourism-sector participation in the global CFT Registry, a transparency and reporting mechanism helping businesses track and demonstrate progress toward climate-aligned operations. The registry will serve as an important catalyst for industry accountability and accelerated climate action.

 

4. Support Tourism Destinations and Registered Hotels with Developing CFT Climate Action Plans
   The partnership will help participating Tourism destinations and companies move from awareness to action by developing Paris 1.5, SDG & Nature+ve Climate Action Plans. SUNx’ CFT methodology will be paired with WAOSD’s scientific expertise to ensure that businesses have practical, achievable pathways to cut emissions, build resilience, and align with international climate frameworks.

 

5. Promote “Dodo4Kids” Climate & Biodiversity Education
   Recognising the importance of Youth “Education2Action” the organisations will collaborate to localise and promote the SUNx Dodo4Kids programme - a creative climate-education initiative designed to instil environmental awareness and positive action in the next generation.

 

Geoffrey Lipman, SUNx President said:

“We are delighted to consolidate our partnership with our old friend and colleague Jinfeng Zhou and WAOSD to help bring Climate Friendly Travel and our Education2Action program to China and Belt & Road countries. We have been collaborating - originally with the late Maurice Strong, father of the UN Climate, Sustainability and Nature Framework -  for more than a quarter of a Century and share a positive world view in which the immense socioeconomic strength of China and its Belt and Road strategy is a key driver for Climate Friendly Travel in a fragmented world challenged by the existential Climate Crisis.”

Dr. Jinfeng Zhou, President of WAOSD, added:

“Tourism sits at the intersection of biodiversity, climate, and human well-being. Through this collaboration, we will help ensure that China and Belt & Road countries can adopt world-class climate standards while fostering sustainable economic growth and protecting the planet for future generations. This reflects the vision of Maurice Strong, the architect of the UN Climate and Sustainability framework, who was our inspiration.”

About SUN^x Malta SUN^x Malta is a legacy program of the late Maurice Strong, built to support Climate Friendly Travel – low carbon, SDG-linked, and Paris 1.5-aligned. It is supported by the Malta Tourism Authority. Working with partners like the Institute of Tourism Studies Malta, SUN^x develops climate resilience through education, innovation, and global engagement.

About The World Academy of Sustainable Development Limited (WAOSD)
WAOSD is an international scientific organization headquartered in Hong Kong, dedicated to addressing the triple planetary crisis—the biodiversity crisis, climate crisis, and public health crisis—through scientific innovation and global collaboration. The Academy focuses on core areas such as biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and public health improvement, promoting interdisciplinary research, international dialogue, and the translation of policies into practice.

Dodo4Kids: Vision for a Climate Friendly Travel Future

As the annual Climate COP convenes in #Belem and UNTO engages with its Tourism component, we want to offer a small contribution from SUN^x Malta from our ‘Education 2 Action” program’ It’s prompted by the Travel Foundation’s call for “Big Ideas”. And rolled out around the world with our SDG-17 Partner the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). We call it ‘Dodo4Kids’

Dodo4Kids delivers a simple message for families travelling to the world’s tourism icons, that by giving hope and understanding in our children, we can start to build a growing belief in the vital importance of Climate Friendly Travel (Climate Resilient, Sustainable: Nature +ve) for our collective future. So that as today’s first learners become the decisionmakers in the years leading to 2050 they will make informed and wise choices.

Dodo4Kids inspires children through the adventures of a quirky, reincarnated Dodo, who travels around the world, to teach local kids of the threats from the intensifying Climate Crisis and the importance of a collective response. Through fun books, cartoons, and creative exploration, Dodo transforms lessons from the past into hope-driven action for tomorrow. We are inviting the global Travel & Tourism sector to partner with us.

Professor Geoffrey Lipman President of SUN^x Malta (pictured below) said “All the data shows that we are failing on the targets in the Paris Agreement; the SDG; the Biodiversity Convention - so why not put our faith in the next generations to do a better job. Our kids and grandkids will be the decisionmakers when the Paris Agreement’s target dates are here. Through Dodo 4 Kids we want them to start their journey toward Climate Friendly Travel and a thriving planet now - so that the Dodo becomes a beacon of hope, not just a sad reflection on the past.”

Noor Ahmad Hamid, CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) said: "At PATA we firmly believe that responsible travel & the future of our industry are rooted in the values we instil in the next generation. The Dodo4Kids initiative beautifully brings to life our mission of fostering sustainable, inclusive and thoughtful tourism across the Asia Pacific region by engaging children & families in the adventure of climate friendly travel. By inspiring young travellers to explore with curiosity, care and respect for people and planet, we are building a legacy of tourism that leaves a positive footprint not just today but for children and communities around the world tomorrow.”

Dodo4Kids e-books for Malta, Mauritius, Uganda, Bali & Ukraine on Amazon.com

For more information, please contact: dodo@thesunprogram.com

Website: www.thesunprogram.com & www.dodo4kids.com

#Dodo4Kids #COP30 #Belem #GreenTourism #ClimateResilience #NaturePositive

#YouthVoices

SUN^x Malta and its local Uganda Chapter are highlighting the imperative for climate action in tourism now – during the forthcoming Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) 2025 in Kampala, with a focus on supporting future generations.

One of the most active of our 60 Climate Friendly Travel Chapters around the world is in Uganda with nearly 100 hospitality stakeholders, including small tour operators, local community homesteads, and a wide range of hotels & lodges. It also includes the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), with its gorilla conservation activities.

This year our Chapter Leader, Tony Ofungi, founder of Maleng Travel, will showcase two major initiatives: -

• Dodo4Kids the inspirational program for primary learners, with eBooks, learning material and fun local exploration. We will profile a new eBook for Uganda showing our friendly re-incarnated dodo taking two Uganda children on a grand tour of the country to understand the threats that the intensifying Climate Crisis brings to tourism communities and wildlife.

 

• Dodo Trails - Uganda a brand new ‘voluntourism’ experience developed as part of a worldwide program with Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE), featuring the famous Gorillas but also with an impact mission to a local school to install solar power, giving renewable energy, light and internet access.

Professor Geoffrey Lipman President SUNx Malta said “It’s great to bring these important Education 2 Action programs to Africa and to do it with such an inspirational chapter as the one that Tony is leading in Uganda, as well as with Paras Loomba at GHE. We are convinced that it’s all our responsibilities to help prepare a better, cleaner and greener world for our kids and grandkids – carrying on a 50-year vision from our inspiration Maurice Strong, the UN pioneer of sustainable development.

Tony Ofungi, Uganda CFT Chapter Leader said “We are proud to be a pioneer of these global programs here in Uganda. We are a model for other African Nations and a rallying point for Climate Friendly Travel - Paris 1.5: SDG: Nature +ve, across the continent.

Paras Loomba, Founder of GHE said “GHE is excited to partner with SUNx and bring our Impact Trails model to Uganda through Dodo Trails. After 100+ expeditions across the Himalayas, it’s inspiring to now expand this work to schools in developing nations and small island states, in delivering clean energy and digital access where it’s needed most."

Contacts

SUNx Malta     olly@thesunprogram.com

Maleng Travel tonyofungi@gmail.com  

GHE                 info@ghe.co.in

Find us at POATE, Maleng Travel Stand T9 Munyonyo Convention Centre  uganda@thesunprogram.com

SUNx and PATA, announce their partnership to educate school aged travellers to prepare for the Climate Crisis and its intensifying impact on holiday destinations.

At the heart of the agreement is a joint focus on the Dodo4Kids education program, an initiative designed to introduce Climate Friendly Travel (CFT) to young learners and their families. PATA and SUNx Institute will work together to expand climate literacy and embed sustainability principles at an early age, nurturing the next generation of conscious travellers and changemakers through educational animations and valuable learning materials.

The agreement, signed by SUNx Malta President, Professor Geoffrey Lipman, and PATA CEO, Noor Ahmad Hamid, is guided by Sustainable Development Goal 17 — Partnerships for the Goals. This goal underscores the importance of collective action in achieving sustainable outcomes, particularly in addressing the global climate crisis.

“We are proud to partner with Professor Geoffrey Lipman and the SUNx team, whose dedication to climate resilience and Climate Friendly Travel continues to inspire meaningful change across our industry,” said PATA CEO Noor Ahmad Hamid. “This collaboration is more than a formal agreement, it is a shared commitment to invest in the future. By working with SUNx, PATA hopes to empower the next generation of travellers to be responsible, resilient, and climate conscious global citizens who continue to pursue best-practices that promote and foster sustainable tourism.”

In addition to Dodo4Kids, the partnership opens the door to broader collaboration in areas of shared interest, from co-promoting campaigns and planning joint activities. It outlines a commitment to open communication & transparency, while maintaining the independence & integrity of each organisation.

Media Contact:  

PATA   Paul Pruangkarn; Director - Marketing & Communications;  Bangkok, Thailand

Email: communications@pata.org

SUNx. Olly Wheatcroft; Program Manager, Brussels, Belgium

Email: olly@thesunprogram.com

About PATA The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a non-profit membership association dedicated to advancing a meaningful Pacific Asia tourism economy. Guided by its mission to share knowledge,  enable networking, and protect tourism economy assets through innovation, collaboration, and adaptability, PATA brings together governments, industry leaders, academia, and communities to drive positive, lasting change. Established in 1951 and headquartered in Bangkok, the Association also has an official office in Beijing. Visit www.PATA.org

About SUNx Malta - Strong Universal Network

SUNx Malta is a legacy for the late Maurice Strong, father of sustainable development. Its goal is to advance Climate Friendly Travel (CFT) ~ Paris 1.5: SDG linked: Nature positive. With Malta's Ministry of Tourism and Malta Tourism Authority, it aims to support Tourism companies through a UNFCCC-linked CFT Registry, promote CFT Education, and put in place 100,000 Strong Climate Activists by 2030 across all UN states. It follows the principles of the Earth Charter.

At SUNx our focus is Climate Change. It is eXistential. If we don’t address it now, it threatens humanity. Backed by the Malta Tourism Authority, SUNx Malta is a Climate Friendly Travel System to help the global tourism sector transform to zero GHG Emissions by 2050 on a Paris 1.5 pathway.