Track your carbon footprint with new EU cellphone app

The European Union’s Joint Research Centre has just launched a new cellphone application which audits your lifestyle and calculates your personal carbon footprint. The free download, called 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. You type in information about your everyday activities – cooking, transport, lighting, electrical appliances – and it provides you with calculations of individual emissions. A user diary of daily, weekly and yearly emissions can be registered on a secure website, allowing a comparison with national and world averages. The application also includes an animation reflecting the user’s contribution to the Kyoto Protocol target.The application will be demonstrated at the United Nations Climate Change Conference starting December 3rd in Bali, where international negotiations on a new post-Kyoto climate deal will be launched. Right now it is available in English, German, Italian and Slovak and eventually will be offered in 21 languages. The website also has lots of user-friendly tips on reducing your footprint in various spheres of daily life, such as appliances, food and waste, hygiene and leisure.