Carbon Offsetting A Trip Booked Through WeTravel
Reasons to consider a carbon offset purchase, the projects you might fund, how offsetting works, and more
Why should I offset my carbon emissions?
Rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere have contributed to a global climate crisis. And unfortunately, tourism plays a considerable role in today’s climate emergency as it is responsible for roughly 8% of the world’s carbon emissions.
Air travel is one of the worst carbon emitters. To put this in perspective: a one-way flight from San Francisco to Paris can produce about 1.25 metric tons of carbon emissions per passenger, according to Sustainable Travel International. That’s over a quarter of the amount of carbon that the average person worldwide produces per year – from just one round-trip flight!
Every time you fly on a plane, stay in a hotel, ride in a taxi, or create waste, carbon emissions are generated. And while there are steps you can (and should!) take to reduce your carbon footprint while traveling, carbon emissions will still be generated by your trip. This is why carbon offsetting is an essential way to lessen your trip’s impact on the environment.
Plus, by contributing financially to a carbon offsetting project, you will not only be creating a positive impact on the environment, but also helping to bring economic, social, and health benefits to communities in need. Click here to learn more about the communities you’ll be helping!
What types of projects might my offset purchase fund?
WeTravel has partnered with Sustainable Travel International to support their carbon-offsetting projects around the world. Your purchase will help one of their projects that not only reduces carbon emissions, but also supports one or more of the following causes:
Your funds will go to whichever project has the most need at a given point in time.
Click here to learn more details about the projects your contribution might support!
How do carbon offsets work?
Carbon Emissions from Travel
Every time you travel, you generate carbon emissions throughout your trip from flying, lodging, transportation, and other activities. You can learn more about tourism’ carbon footprint here.
Purchase Offsets
To compensate for your travel footprint, you can purchase carbon offset credits equivalent to the amount of emissions you were responsible for. We’ll invest your credits in certified carbon reduction projects.
Carbon Reduction
Projects reduce carbon dioxide by capturing/storing existing CO2 or preventing new emissions from happening. For example, one project might establish a wind farm that generates clean energy, while another may plant trees that absorb carbon
Benefits for Nature and People
Projects may provide benefits that go beyond carbon reduction, such as protecting forests and the biodiversity within, or creating opportunities for communities to better their livelihoods and health.
Credit to Sustainable Travel International
Carbon offsetting is the action of compensating for the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions you produce (through actions such as travel) by reducing your emissions in another way. For example, you can balance out the emissions generated by a long car ride by donating to a reforestation project.
Sustainable Travel International (STI) is an organization committed to using travel and tourism to create environmental and social impact in destinations around the world. Since 2002, STI has worked with communities, companies, governments and organizations to protect and conserve our planet's most vulnerable destinations by connecting individuals and businesses with carbon offset projects around the world.
Sustainable Travel International works with third-party verifiers to guarantee that each carbon off-setting project meets rigorous criteria, ensuring that results are real and measurable and that projects provide community benefits and support biodiversity conservation. You can read more about STI’s rigorous quality assurance process here.
When you offset with Sustainable Travel International, STI stretches your impact by distributing each dollar across our mixed portfolio of forestry, energy, and blue carbon projects. The most recent allocation of our portfolio was 43% forestry, 42% renewables, and 15% blue carbon. To maximize the impact of your contribution, STI handpicks every project that we include in our portfolio, ensuring they comply not only with the most rigorous international standards for carbon offsetting but also pass our own, proprietary diligence. In addition to fighting climate change, we seek out projects that deliver social and environmental benefits beyond CO2 reductions and contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals by creating transformative benefits like improved hygiene, new jobs, increased food security, and flourishing wildlife habitats.
No. Purchasing carbon offsets is not a donation but a purchase. As such, it is not tax deductible. A great analogy is how the Girl Scouts sell Girl Scout Cookies. When we buy those cookies it's a purchase not a donation. Like the Girl Scouts, Sustainable Travel International does accept donations via its fiscal sponsor, the Ocean Foundation, to support its work on sustaining destinations and preserving landscapes. Those donations are tax deductible.