Be conscious – opt-in for a Carbon-neutral vacation with IndiaOffbeat

Why should you take action to avoid catastrophic climate change?

Global warming is happening right now in front of our eyes. Our weather is changing. Every one of the hottest 15 years on record has occurred since 1980. There is now huge consensus among scientists that we face serious climate change – we just don’t know what level of severity it will reach or when.

We probably have about 20-30 years left to sort this problem out and we need to spend our efforts and money on actions that deliver the biggest and fastest CO₂ reductions possible. We all have a part to play and we all need to work together to spread the understanding of this issue and our determination to tackle climate change. Work out your own ‘reduce and offset’ plan today – contact us for details.

What is climate change?

When fossil fuels and wood are burnt they release greenhouse gases that occur naturally in the atmosphere, making the average temperature around 15°C. Without this protective ‘blanket’ our world would be a much colder -18°C

However, the extra greenhouse gases that humankind has emitted have already significantly altered the composition of the atmosphere, adding to the blanket and increasing the average temperature of the Earth. This is causing human-induced climate change. To stop this spiralling out of control, we must radically reduce emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Effects of climate change

The real impact of climate change remains worryingly uncertain, with consequences for all communities, species and environments across the world. Effects include:

• Changing weather bringing drought and flooding, affecting drinking water supplies and agriculture.

• Irreversible loss of many species of plants and animals.

• Rising sea levels, threatening freshwater supplies because of salt water intrusion.

• Melting glaciers, threatening freshwater supplies for millions of people who depend on glacier meltwater for their water supply and irrigation.

IndiaOffbeat supports Climate Care.

ClimateCare is a service that reduces greenhouse gases on behalf of individuals and organizations, to compensate for their impact on the climate. It does this by ‘offsetting’ the greenhouse gases – such as CO2 - emitted from your activities by reducing an equivalent amount of CO2 on your behalf. These reductions are made through a range of projects in sustainable energy technologies that not only fight climate change but can bring widespread benefits to communities around the world. You can offset emissions from flying, driving and household energy use.

2009 funded projects

Your offsets are supporting the portfolio of projects shown below. Click on each of the projects to find out about their environmental, social and economic benefits.

Emission Reduction (ER) figures shown here by each project are those assigned to 2009's portfolio.

The latest quarterly figures of portfolio performance are summarized in the following chart

Key

VCS Voluntary Carbon Standard
GS VER Voluntary Gold Standard
ER Emission Reduction

Contracted
Project is in development or operational. Final independent assessment of project is still to be completed.
Validated
Project design has been independently assessed and approved to international standard.
Verified
Independent assessment of the emission reductions has been completed.

Responsible tourism – we follow some basic rules

It is our constant endeavor at the IndiaOffbeat to practice Responsible Tourism and to foster greater awareness of it among travelers all around the world. As part of our philosophy, we ensure that our tours are eco friendly packages that do not harm or disrupt the local culture or climate, or damage the ecology of the region. We also encourage our travelers to be responsible tourists whose presence is not detrimental to the local culture of a region in any way.

Responsible Tourism entails that tourism organizations look after the destinations, their attractions and resources - and ensure that they are not spoiled either for local people or for future visitors. It also entails inculcating a caring attitude towards the environment as well as providing employment opportunities to local people in the form of direct employment or by engaging them in supply and provision activities.

Some of the other activities that are undertaken by us are the use of accommodations that pursue good environmental practices such as conserving water, using solar heaters and minimizing waste. Use of locally owned hotels and transport companies, provide employment and income for the local population.

At IndiaOffbeat we encourage our customers to think about the impact they may be having on the surroundings and people that inhabit them. We strongly advise our fellow travelers against the use of plastic bags and to dispose their garbage thoughtfully. Courtesy and common sense are also advisable when traveling. We also request our customers to avoid buying products that further endanger threatened species and habitats.