“We have a front-row seat to the climate disaster”: Intrepid CEO urges ScoMo to “go all in” at COP26

“We have a front-row seat to the climate disaster”: Intrepid CEO urges ScoMo to “go all in” at COP26
By Alexandra Coulton


Intrepid Travel has sent Australia’s PM a letter calling for a path to sustainable economic growth and shared prosperity as the national leader continues to mull COP26 attendance.

The letter, which is signed by Intrepid CEO James Thornton, urges Prime Minister Scott Morrison to take notice of the ‘code red’ issued to humanity by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  (IPCC) for the imminent risk of irreversible climate change.

Thornton told the Prime Minister that Intrepid had added its name to a list of more than 600 companies that operate across G20 countries calling on leaders to “go all in for 1.5°C ahead of COP26”.

Morrison has not yet decided whether he will fly to Glasgow to attend the 2021 United Nations climate change conference, known as COP26, which kicks off on 30 October.

The conference is being heralded as one of the most important climate events of the decade and was described by Prince Charles as “a last-chance saloon” for the world to come together and tackle climate change in a recent interview with BBC News.

In the same interview, Prince Charles was shocked to find Australia’s Prime Minister was still on the fence and urged him to attend.

You can read Thornton’s letter to the PM in full below:

Dear Prime Minister,  

Intrepid Travel has added its name to a list of more than 600 companies that have signed an Open Letter calling on G20 Leaders to go all-in for 1.5°C ahead of COP26. This list includes companies big and small,  such as Unilever, Volvo Cars, Netflix Inc and Natura & Co. We invite you to read the letter and list of signatories here. 

We’re responding to the ‘code red’ issued to humanity by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  (IPCC) for the imminent risk of irreversible climate change. 

We’re appealing to G20 Leaders to commit to pathways consistent with at least halving global emissions by  2030 to limit temperature increases to 1.5°C and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. 

To do this we are looking for the G20 to commit to key policies that will trigger a transition of our energy and financial systems in favour of achieving global net-zero emissions by 2050. 

We recognise that ending coal is needed to make way for electrifying transport and renewable energy.

We are calling for an immediate end to new coal power development and clear timelines from governments to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2030 for advanced economies and by 2040 for other countries.  

Intrepid Travel recognises the urgency of climate action. As the world’s largest adventure travel company, we have a front-row seat to the climate disaster that threatens the world’s destinations. We’ve adopted a science-led approach and are the first global tour operator with verified carbon emissions targets by the Science Based  Targets initiative for a 1.5°C world. 

We’ve gone further – as a signatory to the Glasgow Declaration, we support the global commitment to at least halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050. We will continue to consistently align our actions with the latest scientific recommendations to ensure our approach remains consistent with a rise of no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100. 

We are acting. But collectively we can do more within the right enabling environments.  

We stand ready to work with you, and to support you on the path to sustainable economic growth and shared prosperity. 

Yours faithfully, 

James Thornton 

Intrepid Travel CEO

Featured image source: Facebook/Scottmorrison4cook

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