The policy roadmap for achieving carbon-neutral, and green tourist cities under Egypt’s vision 2030: the Sharm El-Sheikh model, South Sinai, Egypt

Tourism-dependent cities such as Sharm El-Sheikh face increasing challenges in balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability and carbon-neutral development, particularly in the absence of an integrated framework linking green urbanism, smart technologies, and safety governance despite Egypt’s Vision 2030 and the National Climate Change Strategy 2050. This study aims to develop an evidence-based policy roadmap to support Sharm El-Sheikh’s transformation into a carbon-neutral, green, smart, and safe tourism city through a mixed-methods approach integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Internet of Things (IoT) applications, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) assessment, carbon footprint analysis based on UNEP methodology, and participatory stakeholder engagement within a six-phase Green + Smart + Safe Framework. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of pilot sustainability interventions, particularly smart waste management systems, which reduced unintentional persistent organic pollutants (UPOPs) emissions from 4.04 g-TEQ/year to 1.97 g-TEQ/year, achieving approximately 70% cumulative emissions reduction and exceeding national targets, while projections indicate that renewable energy and smart mobility integration could reduce overall carbon emissions by 30–45% by 2035. These findings confirm that integrating environmental governance, digital technologies, and circular economy practices provides a scalable and replicable model for sustainable tourism city transitions, positioning Sharm El-Sheikh as a benchmark for carbon-neutral urban development in Egypt and offering a transferable policy framework for emerging tourism destinations seeking to achieve long-term sustainability and climate resilience.