Beijing, CHINA – WildChina, a China-specialist tour operator with offices in Beijing, China and Bethesda, MD, has entered into a strategic partnership with Beijing-based Climate Action, a carbon offset technology firm. This partnership will provide individual, educational and corporate travelers to China with carbon offset options; reduce WildChina’s carbon footprint; and promote sustainability in WildChina’s office practices.
China travelers can now balance the unavoidable carbon emissions produced by their travels by financially supporting clean-energy generation or village community projects. For example, on WildChina’s classic 13-day Chinese Treasures: Beijing, Xi’an, Yunnan & Shanghai itinerary, travelers have the option to pay an additional $20 - $50 per person to support projects in China of their choice, such as a wind farm or a small hydropower plant.
WildChina’s collaboration with Climate Action, which began in March of 2010, is the latest addition to its responsible business practices, which include work with nonprofit and educational groups and ongoing support of local communities to which its clients travel. To offset the carbon emissions from annual electricity use in WildChina’s Beijing office—calculated independently by Climate Action to equal 27 tons of carbon— WildChina has purchased the equivalent in offets, financially supporting the Sichuan-based Pingwu Renjiaba small-hydro energy project.
WildChina is proud to be the first tour operator to collaborate with Climate Action, joining UK-based The Climate Group, a leading NGO in the climate space, as a Climate Action partner. In doing so, WildChina will continue to set the standard for travel operators in Asia and lead the movement for responsible, sustainable trips and business practices within China’s travel industry.
What are carbon emissions & offsets?
Carbon emissions are greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, which pollute the atmosphere because they capture heat. These emissions are produced by airplanes, motor vehicles, industrial processes, events, and products, which in the process of being made or used, currently rely on a carbon intensive energy supply from fuels such as coal and oil. A carbon offset is a carbon credit that is a financial tool used for funding projects, like clean technology wind and solar projects, which displace the need to use carbon intensive fuels.