Intrepid Travel is backing up its commitment to tackle climate change by paying for Aussies to watch Al Gore’s new documentary An Inconvenient Sequel.
A study published in Global Environmental Change journal found that Australians were among the world’s biggest climate change sceptics.
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With the offer of a full refund for those who watch the film this month, Intrepid hopes to convince climate change sceptics of the urgency of the task ahead.
The original documentary was a major driver for Intrepid’s move to become a carbon neutral business with co-Founder Darrell Wade one of the first Australians to undergo Gore’s Climate Project training.
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“We are the lucky country. A nation of travellers, yet it appears many Australians have their ‘heads in the sand’ when it comes to climate change,” Wade said.
“Our finance team are going to hate me for doing this. Sea level and cinema ticket prices have both risen over the past ten years. We’re expecting to do hundreds of individual movie ticket refunds, so this is going to cost us big time – but if it inspires just a few people to ask inconvenient questions then it’s all worth it.”
Intrepid estimates the promise could cost “thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of staff time”.
It made a similar move ten years ago with the launch of Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. The offer saw it post almost 1500 hand-written cheques all around Australia.
Intrepid has been a carbon-neutral business since 2010 that carbon-offsets trips on behalf of travellers. Since 2014 the company has also carbon-offset for sister brands Peregrine Adventures, Geckos Adventures, and Adventure Tours Australia.
Intrepid co-founder Wade with Gore in Melbourne last month
Last month, Wade met with Gore who was visiting Australia to promote the movie.
Gore acknowledged some serious strides made around the world by businesses like Intrepid, but both men agreed more must be done.
With 2017 declared the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, Wade is calling for an industry-wide plan to reduce carbon emissions.
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power is in cinemas from Thursday 10 August. All refunds will again be individually issued by Intrepid staff but with money transferred online this time.
Moviegoers should visit www.intrepidtravel.com/au/ticket-refund and provide a copy of their movie ticket to be eligible for a refund.