EC launches carbon footprint mobile app

Scientists at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre have unveiled a mobile application that helps users to track their carbon footprint.

MobGAS allows users to see the implications of the choices they make every day in terms of the three major greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

Users can calculate individual emissions by entering information about everyday activities, such as cooking, transport, lighting and the use of electronic appliances.

MobGAS generates a diary of daily, weekly and yearly emissions which can be registered on a secure website, allowing users to compare their results with national and global averages.

The application also includes an animation reflecting the user's contribution to the Kyoto Protocol targets.

The European Commission hopes that MobGAS will help individuals to realise the significant impact they can have on reducing emissions by considering how they travel, the appliances they use and the food they eat.

Recent figures from Eurostat suggest that 21 per cent of emissions are related to industrial and associated processes, 31 per cent from energy production, 20 per cent from transport, nine per cent from agriculture and three per cent from waste.

The Joint Research Centre developed the application for mobile phones as most people carry them almost all the time.

MobGAS is available for most mobile phone platforms in 21 European languages, and is free of charge.