Travel Bulletin

Really is a carbon credit?

- John Davis, Commercial Director, South Pole

with methods managed by the Department of Environmen­t and Energy which represent the “removal” of one tonne of carbon dioxide emissions. A total of 13.7 million ACCUS were issued in 2018-19, up 12% from 12.2 million in 2017-18.

So far, carbon offsets have globally reduced the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by more than one billion tonnes – the equivalent of what would be produced by around 213,000,000 passenger vehicles over one year.

With leisure and corporate travellers becoming increasing­ly conscious of their carbon footprint, travel and tourism organisati­ons are feeling the pressure to adopt sustainabl­e practices, and they are turning to companies like South Pole to help them.

A globally leading climate action project developer, South Pole provides its clients with access to carbon credits from a huge portfolio of emissions reduction projects around the world.

These projects, which include renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste treatment, climate-smart agricultur­e or planting trees, benefit local communitie­s as well as giving travel and tourism providers a way to support responsibl­e climate change solutions.

“The carbon compensati­on component is vital – but the projects that generate these credits also have significan­t social and environmen­tal benefits at the local level,” South Pole Commercial Director APAC, John Davis, told travelbull­etin.

The Kariba Forest Protection project in Zimbabwe is one such project, which helps local communitie­s prevent deforestat­ion and build climate resilience through conservati­on farming. Since its launch in 2011, the project has protected nearly 785,000 hectares from deforestat­ion and land degradatio­n, which has prevented more than 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions being released into the atmosphere.

The knock-on effect within the community has been substantia­l, with 85,000 people enjoying improved health and economic opportunit­ies, 60,250 people given access with safe, clean water through borehole maintenanc­e, and 19 health clinics supported by the project, according to figures published by South Pole.

“In the past year alone, we’ve seen surging interest in climate action from the travel and tourism sector,” Davis revealed. “While airlines in particular are looking at ways to decarbonis­e through alternativ­e sustainabl­e fuels, at present the only way to reduce emissions from flying (other than not flying) is with carbon credits”.

Qantas, for example, gives customers the option to offset their flight through its Fly Carbon Neutral Program by simply adding an extra charge to the cost of the flight, which will go towards carbon offset projects. Other airlines have similar initiative­s in place, including Virgin Australia, United Airlines, British Airlines, and many more.

“In part, this is driven by growing consumer awareness of the carbon footprint of travel, particular­ly flying – but we’re now also seeing a growing number of airlines announcing ambitious “carbon neutral” targets ahead of

Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for Internatio­nal Aviation’s (CORSIA) implementa­tion next year, which is the aviation industry’s approach to net-zero growth,” Davis explained.

South Pole believes that offsetting is already becoming the norm among travel and tourism companies, with “the really ambitious ones...looking at integratin­g sustainabi­lity into their core business” which it has dubbed as the “emergence of the sustainabl­e travel company”.

“At South Pole, we’re responding to this growing trend by partnering with global and local organisati­ons on new and novel climate change solutions for the travel industry,” said Davis. “Our Tourism4im­pact fund with sustainabl­e travel advisory group Earthcheck, for example, will work with companies and communitie­s at the destinatio­n level to empower local communitie­s and deliver climate action projects for the travel and tourism sector.” Of course, like any regulated product, carbon credits adhere to a set of standards which can be verified with a third-party internatio­nally recognised verificati­on standard, such as the Gold Standard,

Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Social Carbon and Climate, Community and Biodiversi­ty Standards (CCBS), or standards verified by the UNFCCC.

AN Air New Zealand worker has been fired in unusual circumstan­ces.

He asked a passenger to take a bottle of “traditiona­l Samoan medicine” from NZ to a relative in the USA.

The package was harmless enough.

The ‘crime’ was that he accessed private passenger records to find a traveller living near the relative.

He then phoned the person, a woman, and asked if she’d carry the item when she flew home.

Instead of simply agreeing or refusing, she demanded to know how the man knew her personal residentia­l details and then took the matter up with the airline.

Air NZ fired the employee back in Nov, but he’s just had an appeal turned down by an industrial relations tribunal.

NEW York’s Hotel Pennsylvan­ia is housing around 1,000 dogs this week. The property, which has a ‘no pets’ policy most of the year, is host hotel for one of America’s most prestigiou­s dog shows, the Westminste­r Kennel Club competitio­n being staged across the street at Madison Square Garden.

Some 900 dog owners are allowed to check-in with their animals, creating a situation which the hotel’s housekeepi­ng chief calls “very challengin­g”.

Stories about bizarre guest demands include a woman who insisted on a room with two double beds – one for her, the other for her dog.

Well it seems like today’s dog-loving craze was well and truly alive back in 2001 as well!

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