
Many destinations are racing to be first to become carbon neutral, in what has been coined "the Carbon World Cup."
Countries planning to become carbon neutral include Costa Rica, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand and Monaco. The five nations have signed up for a UN-backed plan to become zero net emitters, but none intend to achieve carbon neutrality as quickly as the Maldives, which announced their plans earlier this month.
Local environmentalists in the Maldives welcome the plan, which requires, among other things, individual resorts to use solar panels to generate electricity, and use sea water for air-conditioning.
Destination Stewardship initiatives such as those being implemented in The Maldives and elsewhere have the potential to stimulate sustainable development by way of an interdisciplinary, holistic and integrative approach. Sustainable Travel International (STI) helps communities, businesses, and entire countries work towards becoming climate neutral, and achieve significant sustainable tourism goals at the same time.
Collaborating with renewable energy and energy efficiency experts and other partners, STI works with destinations to implement a powerful model for mitigating climate change.
More specifically, STI provides region-specific carbon footprint assessments for impacts generated by travel and tourism and other activities, evaluates the potential for implementing new renewable energy and bio-fuel solutions, calculates the carbon benefits associated with existing local renewable energy production, and develops climate and carbon management solutions to help destinations implement local offset projects and work toward becoming energy independent.
This destination-based approach provides stakeholders with a strategy for implementing a world-class carbon reduction and offset program, insight into the benefits of local offset projects, and information on where to focus additional resources to minimize greenhouse gas emissions through renewable energy, energy efficiency and waste reduction strategies. It affords the opportunity for whole destinations to become truly carbon neutral and set a precedent at a global level.
For more information about STI's Destination Stewardship and carbon management services, please contact us: info@sustainabletravel.com
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