A destination with values

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

HSH Prince Albert II has pledged that the Principality of Monaco will have reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 (compared to 1990 figures) and renewed his commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, in addition to his many other initiatives aimed at putting consideration for our oceans at the heart of climate change discussions. Sources/more information

INITIATIVES IN PLACE

Safeguarding our natural resources 

Managing the Principality's resources is central to government policy. The Department for the Environment is setting up programmes for inventorying and tracking marine and land species.
The Principality is working to protect the marine environment, and all of its territorial waters are part of the Pelagos marine sanctuary.
Two marine reserves have been set up in Monaco.
The first spans 50 hectares in Le Larvotto and was established in the 1970s. It is home to a Posidonia sea grass bed, pearl oysters and dusky groupers. The second was founded in 1986 on the Spélugues seabed. Its red coral population is a special feature.
Back on land, the Principality is home to 880 plant species, including 18 heritage species. Various studies have enabled researchers to inventory the flora and fauna here and to discover a number of rare species of insects and invertebrates. The Rock of Monaco provides a safe haven for a couple of peregrine falcons and their chicks. The Department for Urban Planning is responsible for implementing a preservation policy that covers trees and some species of plants. The department also wrote the Tree Code, a document that reasserts the importance and benefits of ensuring trees feature in our cities, and provides an inventory of the Principality's trees. Sources/more information

Monitoring

1) Monitoring Air Quality

An automated network of five standard stations were set up across the Principality over 20 years ago now with a view to ensuring comfort and avoiding human health and environmental hazards. These stations provide continuous surveillance, either automatically or via sampling, followed by lab analysis. The Department for the Environment handles all these measures, which are then submitted to AtmoSud (a Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur certified expert) for approval.

Monitoring is in place for the following pollutants :

• Carbon monoxide (Co)
• Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
• Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
• Ozone (O3)
• Fine particles

Surveillance measures have been heightened with the uploading of an Air Quality Index (AQI) to the Government's onlineportal. Air quality is expressed via an overall index ranging from 0 (very good) to 100 (alert threshold), calculated using data collected from the five air quality measuring stations operated by the Department for the Environment.
Next-day AQI forecasts are also estimated based on weather forecasts.

2) Monitoring Coastal Water Quality

The Principality monitors physical and chemical quality for coastal waters based on measurements taken from across various marine environment components (bodies of water, sediment and living organisms), and on awareness of activities and natural and anthropogenic factors likely to impact on quality levels in the marine environment.

Managing Resources

The Principality takes a sustainable approach to water and waste management. Monaco has two water supply sources: locally-produced water from sources located in the eastern part of the Principality, and imported water taken from sources in the east, extracted from the La Roya groundwater, and a primary resource in the west, extracted from the Var river basin. Water efficiency and cutting water consumption remain central to effectively and sustainably managing this resource. Excessively high levels of water consumption put pressure on freshwater reserves, particularly in an urban context. Careful consumption relieves pressure on our ecosystem and preserves the lifespans of existing reserves and water treatment plants. Over the past few years, growing awareness of this fact among the Principality's households, businesses and public bodies have ensured a significant decrease in the amount of water consumed in Monaco.  Sources/more information
Waste sorting measures are in place, and are bolstered by a pro-active awareness-building policy.  www.sma.mc/
With respect to energy, the Government's environmental policy aims to uphold the Principality's pledges and commitments, in particular to the Kyoto Protocol. In order to meet the Kyoto Protocol's requirements, Monaco aims to improve energy efficiency by 20% and source 20% of final energy from renewable sources by 2020.

The Energy Climate Plan has been implemented to fight climate change and adapt the region to these changes as part of a long-term commitment to sustainable development. For more information

Reducing Greenhouse Gas

The Principality of Monaco has committed to halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (compared to 1990 figures). 
To meet this objective, an Energy Transition Unit was set up and aims to target the three sectors most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions in Monaco: road transport, waste processing and building energy use. The Unit also oversees the national eco fund aimed at funding major projects.
Having drafted the white paper that served as a roadmap for the process, the Energy Transition Unit is now working on developing renewable energies in Monaco (solar energy, ocean thermal energy, geothermal energy, etc.).
An Energy Transition Pact has also been kick-started alongside this, allowing all stakeholders, public and private, to get involved in voluntary and mandatory initiatives set up to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For more information

Monaco: a Responsible Tourism Destination

The tourism sector in Monaco is adhering to the environmentally-friendly policy upheld by the Government of Monaco. All those involved are committed to creating a new, more responsible brand of tourism and are putting solutions in place to optimise resource management.
The destination and its partners are working hard to protect and preserve water resources and biodiversity and lead the way in the fight against global warming.
As an example, most of Monaco's hotels boast environmental certification and soft mobility is being promoted thanks to an expanded public transport network and efficient, inter-modal transport solutions. Awareness-building initiatives are regularly launched, based on key themes such as recycling, cutting back on food waste, protecting biodiversity, etc.

The Monaco Government Tourist & Convention Authority signs the Glasgow Declaration

Following the publication of its White Paper on Sustainable Tourism, the Monaco Government Tourist & Convention Authority recently signed the Glasgow Declaration on climate action. Challenges, objectives, action plans… here are three short questions and answers with all you need to know about the initiative!
What is the Glasgow Declaration?
The Glasgow Declaration is a crucial step towards addressing the need for faster climate action in the tourism sector. It aims to halve emissions this decade, and achieve net zero as soon as possible before 2050.
Who is concerned?
All stakeholders in the industry are gearing up to support lower carbon, more sustainable, and more resilient tourism models. The Glasgow Declaration currently has just over 700 signatories, including tour operators, online agencies, and also cities, countries, and destinations like Monaco.
What about the Monaco Government Tourist & Convention Authority?
The Monaco Government Tourist & Convention Authority confirmed its commitment to developing more sustainable forms of tourism by signing the Glasgow Declaration in Madrid last October. The move is in line with the three year action plan prepared in the wake of the White Paper on Sustainable Tourism in the Principality.
The Monaco Government Tourist & Convention Authority is keen to work – with the help and support of its partners – on the five pathways identified by the Glasgow Declaration, which are: Measure, Decarbonise, Regenerate, Collaborate, Finance. The approach will involve working every day for the long term, to take effective measures to help the climate and achieve the targets.