While many people talk a lot about doing things to save our planet from various perils like global warming, many of us do not know what steps can be taken up individually to help preserve our planet for future generations. While many of us do our bit in this regard by taking up individual measures like conserving energy by avoiding unnecessary use of electricity and using the light bulbs that saves up on energy, eating more organic foods, recycling of certain commodities, etc not many of us know there is more we can actually do. One such way to go is Carbon neutral insurance.
But, before we get to know how we can help save up the planet by taking up such an insurance, we should first realize what Carbon neutral is all about.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which is naturally found in the atmosphere and whose levels are steadily on the increase due to utilization of fossil fuels. Whenever we use the car or heat up our homes or take a flight, there is the production of carbon dioxide gas. It has been found that on an average a car used for family purposes produces more than 3 tons of carbon dioxide an year.
There are many projects happening all over the world to help reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide produced and released into the atmosphere. A few examples are the production of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy and methane capture projects where methane released from landfill zones are prevented from being released into the atmosphere as methane is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
As these projects help in prevention of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, they are awarded carbon credits wherein a carbon credit is an equivalent of prevention of a ton of carbon dioxide emissions.
Carbon neutral is a process by which we buy carbon credits equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide we are releasing to the atmosphere by utilizing our cars on the road. By doing this, we are offsetting whatever damage we are doing to the atmosphere by funding a project happening somewhere in the world working towards reducing the release of greenhouse gases and thus improving our efforts to preserve the world for the future generations.
Earlier the process to go carbon neutral was a very haphazard method as there were no strict guidelines to help determine the same. So, even though many people were interested in doing their bit for the improvement of the environment, many people were getting benefited by dishonest means to make money.
But, now carbon neutral type of insurance has come in as a genuine way to help offset the carbon emissions that your vehicle is causing and has been welcomed by many individuals with open minds. All one needs to do is to check for insurance quotes online that help determine the amount of carbon dioxide you need to offset by calculating the actual emission by taking into account the model and make of your car, the engine capacity and the mileage you are traveling annually along with other details like fuel consumption and data from car manufacturers.